Lost and Found
by love4writing
Summary: Rhysand thought his sister had been killed but wars usually mean foul play. Azriel believed he would be alone forever but sometimes the one thing you think you'll never get back returns. Set three months after ACOWAR. Please add comments or reviews! Thanks!
1. Secrets

Rhysand

The shouting was unnerving. I knew the voice so well and she sounded like she needed my help. I kept looking through the darkness separating us but I couldn't find her.

"Just tell me where you are", I screamed out into the dark.

The reply was so muddled I couldn't make it out. Another voice was calling my name.

"Rhys, wake up!"

I started awake, covered in a cold sweat to see my mate looking at me with concern. I shook the sleep out of my head.

"Are you ok?" Feyre asked.

I nodded. This dream was getting to be too much. I looked out the window and realized it was almost dawn. I needed to talk to my brothers. I dragged myself out of bed. Feyre watched me carefully. I could feel the concern down our bond and I gave her a smile.

"I'm ok. I just need to figure out where this dream is coming from. Maybe Cass will have an idea," I told her.

She watched me but didn't say anything else. She knew I'd likely just brush off her concerns anyway. But what I said was the truth. I needed to see if Cass had any ideas. Or perhaps Az. Dreaming about my sister when she had been dead for centuries had to mean something. I sent messages to both of my brothers to come meet me for breakfast so we could talk.

Az and Cass were both there within an hour. My brothers were both concerned. It was rare for me to want to see them this early. So I explained the dreams to both of them. How it had been happening for nearly two months. It was always the same. Myrrh, looking for me, asking me to find her. My little sister had been one of my favorite people in this world and losing her had nearly destroyed me. It prompted me to seek revenge on Tamlin and his family. It took a lot to come back from that and I was a little afraid that I might be caught in some trap set by Hybern or one of his successors. When I finished the whole explanation, Cass was frowning. He was looking at Az with a great deal of concern.

When I looked at Az, I could see why. He had gone pale and was sitting in the chair with a look of shock on his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"I've had those same dreams', he replied. "At least, I thought they were just dreams but… if you're having the same dream, it can't be a dream. So it must be a message. But… she's gone."

He finally stopped and looked at me helplessly. Looking at his face, I could tell there was something he wasn't telling me. Silence filled the room. It was Cass who finally asked the question that I couldn't work out.

"How would Myrrh be communicating with you? She had a bond with Rhys, so that makes sense but…"

Both of us looked back at Az, who was looking slightly guilty, although it was hard to tell with him since he hid his feelings so well.

Finally his hazel eyes looked up at me and he took a deep breath.

"Rhys, I need to explain something to you."


	2. Revelations

Azriel

Looking up at my brother's confused face hurt a little. Rhys thought he knew everything about me and now I needed to tell him the truth. I had kept a very large secret from him for a very long time now. I looked down at the table for a moment, trying to gather my thoughts, think about how to say this.

"I have a bond with Myrrh", I said, looking him in the eyes. "She was my mate. I loved her."

It took Rhys several moments to process what I said and I silently braced myself for what was coming. It still took my by surprise when he hit me. Cass jumped out of his seat and grabbed Rhys before he could do anything else. I backed up a few steps to put some more space between us. My jaw hurt but I felt worse that he reacted exactly as I thought he would. I had hoped that with time, he'd be less volatile about the idea. Apparently, he was still a very protective brother. I rubbed my jaw for a moment and said nothing.

Cass broke the silence. "Rhys, think about what he just said."

"I am", growled Rhys.

"No", said Cass abruptly. "Think about what he just said. How long has it been? What if it was you?"

Cass's words made Rhys come to his senses. He took a step back and looked at me.

"I'm sorry", he said.

"It's a bruise", I replied. "I've had worse."

Rhys shook his head. "That's not what I meant. I can't imagine losing Feyre and you've been… well, I'm sorry."

I just looked down at the floor. The emptiness had been something I had just lived with. I couldn't change it so I had just kept going every day. After awhile it didn't seem so empty if I didn't think about it. So I hadn't. I had kept watch over my friends, my family. I protected them with everything I was worth.

Since Cass was the only one of us thinking reasonably, he also came up with the revelation that neither Rhys nor I had.

"If you're both having the same dream, is it possible that it's not a dream? Could Myrrh be trying to talk to one or both of you to try and get help?"

Rhys paused and thought about that.

"Why can't I get through to her though?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know if I'm getting through to her either. I've gotten glimpses of woods that look familiar to me but I can't place them."

Rhys nodded. "Those woods were familiar to me too. It was the first thing I saw that looked familiar. The mountains I saw first were nothing that seemed like they were around here.

I nodded. I didn't recognize anything up until about a week ago. The flashes are so quick though that I can't place them."

"So she's traveling?" asked Cass. "Then she must be getting closer to us if you both recognize the areas she's showing you. And that sounds like she's trying to get you to help."

"Great", said Rhys sarcastically. "Where though?"

"Can you describe it to me?" asked Cass.

So we launched into a description of what we had both seen, trying to fill in blanks as we went, mentioning things that we had noticed and developing a picture as we went.

"Those are my woods."

None of us had noticed Feyre come in the room but she had heard enough of the description to realize what we hadn't.

"Are you sure?" Cass asked her.

In return he got a look that made Rhys chuckle.

"Ask my sisters if you don't believe me Cassian. But I know the area they're describing. I used to hunt there."

Suddenly I realized that the images were getting clearer over time, which must mean -

"She's getting closer", said Rhys, realizing it at the same time.

"Who?" asked Feyre.

Rhys looked at her and took a deep breath.

"I think my sister is still alive."

Feyre looked at Rhys like he'd lost his mind.

"I know, it's crazy but I never saw their heads. I was just told what happened. I don't think my father ever saw either. They disappeared and we never looked into it after the boxes turned up. But it's possible that someone simply saw two heads and assumed since one was my mother, the other must have been Myrrh."

"It's worth checking into", said Cass. "If it's not her and it's some kind of trap, we need to know that too."

"Call everyone here", said Rhys. "We're going to find out what's going on."


	3. Pessimism

Cassian

Nothing could have prepared me for the words "my mate" coming from Az's mouth. They had, however and he had the bruise to prove it. Fortunately nobody asked why Az had the bruise as the members of Rhys' inner circle started to arrive. Mor looked at Az for a long time but Az pointedly did not look at her. She seemed to know better than to ask him any questions. Amren also looked curiously at Az's face but also opted to not ask questions. Elaine looked at him the longest and seemed like she might say something but eventually she looked away. When everyone was there, Rhys got up to explain what we were going to do. Elaine spoke first though.

"She is alive."

Rhys looked at her. I snuck a look at Az who looked like he might cry. That scared me. Az never showed emotion like that. He hadn't been joking about his feelings for Myrrh then. He almost looked desperate, as though only this could make him whole again. I wondered how long he had felt like this and why I hadn't noticed anything. As I thought about it, I realized that while all of this was happening we had been separated with different units. We never saw it because we weren't there. Az had fallen in love with his mate and lost her before we ever got to be a family. The fact that his mate was Rhys' sister, well that was nothing I could control. I was surprised when Rhys hit Az though. I was expecting him to be annoyed but not furious.

While Rhys explained how we would search, I thought about how we'd be walking into a trap. There was no other explanation. I knew both Rhys and Az believed that Myrrh was trying to tell them she needed help. I was certain that someone from Hybern's court was exacting revenge.

As Rhys finished, I prepared myself for the fallout. We would be winnowing out to the woods in pairs. Rhys decided to send me with Lucien. I wasn't crazy about that idea but I knew Lucien could at least fight. Less for me to worry about. I walked over to Lucien and let him winnow us to the area where Rhys told him to start.

I immediately looked around quickly to check for threats. It was quiet. Lucien looked around carefully, with a slightly hopeful look.

"We're not going to find her," I muttered.

Lucien gave me a dirty look. "We could."

I refrained from rolling my eyes. I nodded my head to indicate the direction we needed to go. I glanced upward at a shadow and realized that Az was flying overhead trying to see if he could see her that way.

I sighed. "This might really break him."

"Why are you so pessimistic?" asked Lucien.

I hadn't even realized I said anything out loud.

"I just don't see it being possible that Myrrh has been alive for over three centuries and we just never knew it. She never tried to contact Rhys?" I asked pointedly.

Lucien shrugged. "I've seen some weird stuff happen these last fifty years or so. I'd believe anything at this point."

I shook my head. And abruptly threw my arm up to stop Lucien from walking past me. He looked at me as I drew my sword. And he drew his. I might be a pessimist but Lucien didn't want to die either.

"Who's there?" I called out.

There was a rustle, as a slight figure stepped out from behind some trees nearby. The figure had their hands up but I could see a small sword hanging. What I couldn't see was the face because there was a hood up.

"Cassian?"

The voice was vaguely familiar. "Show yourself," I said.

I felt Lucien tense beside me, preparing to fight if he had to. I could feel Rhys answering my silent alarm through our bond.

The figure's hand slowly reached up to the hood and pulled it back, without saying a word.

Lucien and I gasped at the same time. Staring back at us, looking incredibly relieved was a woman who could have been Rhys' twin except for the fact that she had green eyes.

I heard Mor push through into the clearing behind us and gasp.

And then I heard Rhys land next to me. He didn't say anything and neither did the woman. A moment later Rhys let out a roar of joy and swept her up into a hug and I could swear he was crying.


	4. Found

Rhysand

Nothing could have prepared me for seeing my sister standing in front of me alive. When I landed next to Cass, I could feel her relief. She hadn't wanted to try and explain this to Cass. One thought through our bond - What the hell took you so long?

I laughed as I grabbed her. I couldn't believe it but holding her helped make it more real. When I stepped back, I realized that she was crying. I could still feel relief flooding the bond we shared, as well as some shock. When I turned around I realized why. The clearing was now filled with other people. Every one of them looked like they could hardy believe what they were seeing.

Cass looked at me with concern.

"Are you sure that's really her?" he asked me.

"I'm sure," I replied. "We share a bond and that bond couldn't have been duplicated."

Lucien walked up to her with a smile. She met him part way with a hug.

"Lucien, I've missed you," she said.

Lucien merely nodded. He looked a little shocked. I tried to think back to the various fae that she knew. Lucien had been one of the few that she was close too. In fact, I had often wondered if they were in a relationship.

"I'm kind of curious," said Cass abruptly, "how you came to be here when we've all thought you were dead."

Now Myrrh looked shocked. "Why would you think that?" she asked.

"Because that's what Tamlin told us," I told her. "Well, his father told us."

Myrrh shook her head. "Tamlin had nothing to do with it."

"What did happen?" I asked, "because somewhere, somehow, there's going to be bodies."

Myrrh smiled at me. "Rhys, always being the protective big brother. From what I've heard though, that's already been taken care of. Something about Hybern being dead?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Hybern was responsible for making my sister vanish somehow. I had already killed him.

"I feel like there's a story behind this," I said calmly. "And I think there's something else that you may have forgotten to mention to me."

I gave a sideways glance towards Az.

Myrrh nodded. "Yes, you could say that."

I nodded in agreement. "We'll take you home. I can't wait to get into the air and safe." I smiled.

Myrrh frowned. "That's not going to happen. Not for me, anyway."

"Why not?" asked Cass.

Myrrh looked at him and I suddenly felt a burst of sadness from her.

I haven't flown for three hundred years or so. I tried to but… I can't."

Cass looked like he wanted to kill someone. "Well, we'll just have to teach you again. You'll probably learn fast," he said lightly. He still looked like he wanted to murder someone.

I could understand his anger. Preventing her from flying must have also made her miserable because it's in our blood to fly. Not having been able to for centuries would have been like torture.

Throughout the conversation, Azriel hadn't said a word. I looked at Myrrh and realized that although she kept looking at me as if she was seeing a ghost her attention was almost solely on my brother. I stepped back from my sister, to her side. I was sure that Az was waiting for my okay, after I had slugged him this morning.

He must have gotten my message because he stepped forward out of the shadows behind me. Both Feyre and Cass were watching him closely. I was watching Myrrh though. I had known my sister for more than a century as we grew up together but what I saw on her face in that moment told me that she had kept this from me as much as Azriel had. I had never seen that kind of love on her face. I had no idea why they kept it so quiet other than they must have expected the reaction that Az got this morning.

Azriel walked over to where she stood and looked her in the eyes before gently leaning over and kissing her cheek. I immediately regretted hitting him as I saw the love and respect he had for her. While I knew what their being mates meant on a physical level and I recognized that they had likely been to bed with one another, this moment was not about that lust.

"Meet me at home in an hour," I whispered to Az.

He didn't shift his gaze at all. He simply nodded to show that he had heard me. I looked at the group behind me and simply pointed. Slowly, my family got the message and backed out of the clearing, heading back to home.

I left last, giving them one last look. I didn't think either one noticed me. They were looking at each other. I smiled before stepping into the darkness that would take me home.


	5. Explanations

***Note: Thanks for the nice comment!**

 **Azriel**

I felt Rhys vanish behind me. Myrrh didn't move until he was gone. Then she gently brushed along the bruise on my jaw.

"Did Rhys do that?" she asked.

I nodded. "He did indeed. He didn't seem to think the idea of us being mates was a good one. Although, he may have recently changed his mind," I told her.

She grinned.

"We've got an hour," I pointed out.

"So I heard," she murmured.

I wrapped my arms around her, feeling her close to me. She snuggled into me the same way she used to, resting her head on my shoulder. I could feel the tears running down her cheek as they landed on my neck.

"Are you alright?" I asked her.

She nodded.

"I thought I might never see you again. At first I thought you'd come looking for me but after awhile I realized that you probably couldn't feel anything through the bond anymore because I couldn't feel anything either. Eventually, I gave up hoping that anyone was coming to look for me. Although, with what Cass said, everyone believed I was dead, so why would you have."

"What happened?" I asked her.

"That's a long story that starts with Amarantha and ends with Hybern. Since they're both dead, you'll forgive me for saving that story for later. I'm sure Rhys wants to hear it."

I nodded. "That's very true. Actually, I'm sure a lot of people want to hear it."

She lifted her head up and looked into my eyes again. For now, we were alone.

I kissed her. It started out gently but quickly became deeper and harder. Having been separated for centuries had meant that being lonely and while I had been with a few women in that time, none of them ever made me feel like Myrrh had. My body quickly recalled that feeling. All I wanted was to take her someplace quiet for several days so I could relearn every inch of her body. With a great deal of effort, I stepped back.

"A forest at the edge of Spring Court is not where I want this to happen," I whispered.

Myrrh nodded.

"I promise you that as soon as we have explained things to Rhys, I will make up for every day that we've missed."

With that I leaned over and kissed her neck. Myrrh replied by pushing herself close to me and allowing herself to lightly brush a hand down the edge of my wing. I shuddered.

"Sorry," she murmured.

"I bet," I replied. "Don't worry, I'll return the favor later."

With that I stepped into the darkness and let the shadows wrap us up as we found our way to Velaris together.

 **Myrrh**

I kept my eyes closed for a moment letting myself feel, smell and hear everything around me. I had dreamed of coming home for so long that I could hardly believe I was really here. Trapped in Rask, I had simply started to give up. It wasn't until the spell broke that I even contemplated I could escape. When I opened my eyes, I was staring right into Az's hazel eyes. My heart skipped a beat. I needed to be close to him. My body actually ached. I looked up at the outside of a townhouse and looked past that to the mountains. This was home, the place Az and I always dreamed of being. He didn't let go of my hand as he led me up the steps. I could feel his longing through the bond we shared. He needed to have me near him too.

He walked me down the hall to a study. I sat down in one of the chairs and Az settled himself nearby. Mor walked in first. She didn't speak to either of us as she walked across the room and sat down next to a window. Cass and Rhys walked in with a woman I didn't recognize and were followed by Lucien and three other women. The woman who walked in with Rhys came over to me and smiled.

"Hi. I'm Feyre," she said

"Hi Feyre. My name is Myrrh."

Rhys walked up to her and looked down at me with a smile. "Feyre is my mate, Myrrh, and High Lady of the Night Court."

I smiled. She must have been able to hold her own with Rhys. My thought was met with a feeling of laughter from both my brother and Az. I felt relieved that both bonds seemed to be intact.

"So," said Cass, "I assume there's a story to be told."

I nodded. "Where do you want me to start?"

"The night you vanished, for now," said Rhys. The feeling he sent down the bond told me he was going to hear about why I didn't tell him about Azriel and I but that was for another time.

"That night we had gotten most of the way to the camp but decided it was to late to go any further. I had also planned on meeting Az part way between where we stopped and where he was camped with his troops. So I didn't find out about Tamlin and his father until later that night."

Rhys frowned. "So you weren't there at all when the attack happened?"

I shook my head. Az had the good sense to not utter a sound although I felt him through our bond. He felt grateful that I hadn't been there.

"I was headed back to the camp when I ran into Amarantha. Or, more accurately, two of her men who held me there until she got there. She's the one who explained about the attack on the camp. She told me to come with her and I thought she was taking me to you until she cast this spell that turned out to be a glamour. She said that she was going to hold me at Hybern's court because I would be useful."

Rhys snarled. I started at that. I had heard rumors of what had happened but I had no doubt that whatever Rhys may have done, he did it with the intentions of protecting the court.

"Hybern sent me to Rask to stay with a family that was a supporter of his. And that's where I stayed, locked in that glamour, pretending to be someone else for three centuries, trapped. And then that one day, a few months ago, I felt the world shift. Something was different. When I walked past a mirror I was shocked to see that the glamour was gone. I snuck out that night because I couldn't fix the glamour and make it look right. I thought I could fly and get a good distance away but without using my wings in so long, I couldn't get off the ground. So I ran. I took the cloak and sword from a nightwatchman at the edge of the grounds where I was living. As time passed I felt my magic gaining strength so I tried to send messages through the bonds as I travelled."

"That worked," said Cass, "but neither one of them saw it for what it was. They both thought they were dreams."

Rhys nodded. "It didn't come through very strong at first and I only got glimpses of places where you must have been."

"It was Feyre," Cass continued, "who realized the place they were describing this morning. How long have you been travelling?"

"Almost three months, I would guess," I replied. "It took awhile to get across the water."

I felt a mixture of pride and horror through my bond with Az, that I had travelled so far and made it without to much difficulty almost all the way back to Prythian. I sent back a rush of gratitude for everything that he had ever taught me about fighting and spying.

By now the sun was setting and the room had started to grow dark. Az allowed bits of shadow to sneak away and wrap around my arm. It was his wanting to protect me, make me feel safe and it did. The shadows always made me feel safer because we were so hidden in them.

Rhys sighed. "Will anyone be looking for you?"

"I don't know," I told him honestly. "Several times, I thought I was being followed but then they would vanish. I haven't seen anyone since I crossed the water but there could be people still looking for me. The rumors I heard of how Hybern died were confusing. There's a vacuum where his power was and plenty of people want it. I never really knew how I fit into any of that."

Rhys nodded. He looked at Azriel and frowned.

"Normally, Azriel would be the person checking on those things."

From the side of the room, I heard Lucien's voice. "I'll go."

Rhys looked at him and looked back at Az. "He does excellent work," Az said simply.

Rhys nodded again.

"Fine. Lucien will go. For now, I want you here," he said. "You'll be safest here."

I nodded.

Azriel stood up and glanced around the room quickly. "You look tired," he said to me.

I hadn't felt tired until he said anything and now I felt exhausted. I stood up.

"Come on," he said. "Let's find you a room."


	6. Reunited

**Azriel**

Once we got up a couple of flights of stairs, I turned down a hallway. There was a small library down that hall. Once we got in the room I shut the door behind us. I reached up and brushed her hair back out of her face.

I smiled at Myrrh slyly before continuing. "I owe you for that 'accidental' brush of my wing before."

She had the presence of mind to at least look ashamed.

I leaned over and kissed her again letting my hands wander across her back coming close to her wings but not touching them. I felt her shiver as I brushed my hand downward. I trailed kisses down towards her neck and stopped to whisper "I missed you."

My mate sighed.

I pulled her sleeve up and looked at the tattoo on her arm. It was still there, just like mine, the mark of our bond to each other but not a marriage. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her as close as I possibly could. I could feel our bond grow stronger. I breathed in her scent and kissed her again. I had to stop and control my impulses or else this moment would be over before I could think about it. I looked into her eyes, trying to remember the first time I saw her.

"Mine," I whispered.

She looked at me and smiled. "Always," she replied.

"Even in Rask?" I asked. I needed to know what had happened there.

"I thought that by now you might have found someone else to love, to take my place," she said quietly.

I shook my head and brushed my hair back out of my eyes.

"Nobody could ever replace you. You are my mate and my love."

She wrapped her arms around my neck and I wrapped my arms around her before surrounding her with my wings.

"And you are mine," she said. "Glamour or not, I knew myself in my head. It's not easy to be trapped in your head for three hundred years, knowing your mate is so far away and you can't do anything about it."

I shook my head again. I was angry at people who were dead and there was nothing I could do to change it. Shadows were flaring around me.

"Azriel, stop. There's no point in getting angry about the past. I have you again and that's all I care about."

"They kept you from me. I had no idea and I did nothing to help you."

"What were you going to do? Single handedly kill Amarantha? Or Hybern? And besides, they knew nothing of the bond. They wanted to get at my father, I think."

"So you escaped death at the hands of Spring Court to end up trapped in Rask for three centuries," I muttered.

"It's better this way, isn't it? Were you planning on a life of celibacy?" Her tone was teasing.

I felt my face go red. The truth was that I hadn't exactly been alone for three hundred years. There was nobody that I loved but there had been other women. And my mate had just told me that she had been faithful to me.

"I don't expect that you kept your bed cold," she said, reading my reaction. "The important thing is what happens next."

I looked down at my mate, who had always been able to calm tempers. Even her brother had been tamed with her words and she could definitely make me see reason.

"What happens now," I said quietly, "is that you come with me, to my room so I can ask forgiveness."

"I thought you were getting me my own room?" she replied.

"Do you want your own room?" I asked her. "We can arrange that."

She laughed. "It's only been a few centuries. What's another night?"

I grinned. I also knew that tone of voice although it had been a long time since I had last heard it. I didn't say anything else though. I simply took her hand and led her up the stairs at the end of the hall to my room.


	7. Flight

**Myrrh**

I woke up next to Az and had to touch him. Only after feeling his arm was solid was I willing to accept that I wasn't dreaming. This was real. I had found my way to home, found my brother, and found my mate. These past few days felt like a whirlwind and a million years long all at once. I wondered if I would ever be able to wake up without him next to me and not panic. He was sleeping peacefully and I took some time to memorize his face again. I had traced my way across dozens of scars on his body and wings that I didn't remember. His face was the one thing that I knew hadn't changed.

He opened his eyes and blinked before smiling at me.

"Good morning?"

I laughed. "Is it morning?"

"Probably close enough," he said.

I nodded.

"We're going to get you in the air today," he said quietly.

I didn't reply. I just bit my lip

Az slipped an arm around my waist, pulling me toward him. He kissed me gently before speaking again.

"I mean it. Let's get dressed."

Reluctantly I got up and found some clothes. When we both had layered on some things, we headed outside to the snow.

I already knew how to fly but the issue was that I hadn't flown and therefore hadn't used those muscles. My wings were heavy and although the Illyrian in me refused to let them drag on the ground, the fae side of me ached with the weight.

"How are we going to do this?" I asked him.

"Well, let's figure out what you can do first," he replied.

So he walked me through moving my wings slowly. As I did that, Az watched and looked for any damage that might make flight dangerous. When he finished, he sighed.

"I don't see any damage. I think we just need to work the muscles."

I groaned at the thought.

Az walked over to me and smiled.

"I promise, I will make it worth it."

My body reacted to the promise in his voice. I still ached with the desire to be with him even after last night. I took a deep breath.

"Ok, let's see what I can do then."

Az lifted up off the ground a few feet and hovered and looked down at me. I took a deep breath and made the muscles work. Every single muscle in my body protested at the effort but I managed to get up to where he was. His face lit up with delight and despite the fact that I could feel every muscle working and straining to keep me up, I felt some joy. The wings were the best part of being Illyrian and I had always loved to fly. Very slowly, Az started to go higher into the air and I worked on following him. The longer I flew, the more the muscles argued with me. Finally, I had to admit that I couldn't go any higher. We were barely into the air. With a quick motion, Az flew over to me and guided me back down to the ground. My wings felt like lead. Carefully we walked back inside. I sat down and Az went and got some oil for my back. It helped a little and with some rest I managed to get up and get some food. We ate quietly. Finally he looked over at me.

"Let's get you some rest."

"My flight exercise isn't worth it yet," I teased him.

"I thought you were tired," he replied with a sparkle in his eye.

I grinned at him. "I don't need my wings for everything."

With that he came over and picked me up in his arms and proceeded to carry me to the bed we had been sharing. And then he made good on his promise that every moment of pain had been worth it.


	8. Preparing a Defense

**Note: Hi to all the people who seem to be reading! I would really appreciate feedback, good or bad, so long as it's constructive. Thanks and I hope you're enjoying it. :)**

 **Rhysand**

I sat down with Myrrh every day and worked on her shields. She had never been a very strong daemati but she needed those shields intact because I was still concerned that the remains of Hybern's court would be looking for her. The more intact her shields were, the safer I felt about everything. She worked with me in between working with Az and I was also thrilled to see that her wings were gaining strength. Cass had been right. She just had to learn how to use the muscles again.

More than anything, I was hoping that she could tell me something about how Hybern's court had worked and what kinds of things Amarantha had planned before her death because I felt sure that Hybern had used whatever information he could from her as well. Leaving a vacuum of power was never a good thing but had been necessary. Hopefully, it would also scare any potential successors from trying to come back and attack us.

I poked at our bond and was overjoyed when my sister gave me a smile in return.

"You felt that then," I said.

"You know I did. And I would ask you to refrain from digging around in my head. I have a shield up but it's not very strong."

I nodded. "I don't know that I want to see what's floating around your head right now anyway."

Azriel tried to cover his laugh with a cough. My brother had refused to leave his mate's side since we had found her.

"Have you heard anything from Lucien?" he asked me.

"Not yet. Cass has added patrols along the southern borders just to be safe."

I turned back to Myrrh. "What else can you tell me? About Hybern's court or the glamour or anything. The more we know, the better."

My sister took a deep breath. "There's a lot. I went to Hybern's court a few times and I can probably tell you some of the names but I don't know who may have been killed or ran when things got bad."

It sounded as though they believed that Prythian was a threat to their safety.

Myrrh shook her head, reading my thoughts. "I don't think they believe we're a threat to their safety. I think they believe we're a threat to their economic well being. There's a great deal of unrest among lower fae."

This wasn't news to me. It had been information I had learned before Hybern's army attacked us. What was unnerving me was that there seemed to be a lot of people trying to take Hybern's throne. I was only half listening to my sister's list of names. It was Azriel who stopped Myrrh and got my attention.

"Wait, did you say Belsar?"

Myrrh nodded. "Andrau Belsar. I think he's the oldest brother of a family that was close to Hybern. I know that he wanted Hybern's throne. He held a fairly high ranking in the army."

"Then he's likely dead," I replied.

"No," Myrrh said. "He was supposed to take a unit out the week after Hybern left but then got word to stay. He was waiting for further orders when the word came back that there was an issue with the plan. Shortly after that, the glamour broke so I don't know anything after that."

"Could he really be a threat? Is there even anything left of the army for us to be worried about?" I asked.

Myrrh shrugged. "I didn't stay long enough to find out. Everything I know about the defeat of Hybern's army came to me as rumours as I travelled. And Scythia still has an army," she pointed out.

Az shuddered. I knew his sentiments. The last thing we needed was another battle because there was no way we'd win. I needed to confer with Cassian. We needed to know more.

"Hopefully Lucien will be back soon," said Azriel. "He may have news."

I nodded. Something inside me told me that I had better start looking for ways to defend Prythian again.


	9. Need to Know

***Note* This chapter is long but I felt like it needed to go together.**

 **Cassian**

I picked my jaw up off the ground as Rhys finished talking.

"That's a lot of problem," I said finally. "What are the chances that they'll attack?"

Rhys shook his head. "Myrrh has no way to know. She thinks Belsar may be willing to wage a war but she has no idea what happened after she left."

I took a deep breath and looked at Rhys. Before I could even speak, he shook his head again.

"No. She is not leaving here. I will not take the chance that she's found out and killed. We have no idea if anyone even knew who she truly is. Sending her back to Scythia would be suicide. And Az would never forgive me," he said with a nod in our brother's direction.

"We have to know what we're dealing with," I pointed out.

"We can send spies. Send part of your army. Come up with some grand plan. I don't care. My sister does not leave Prythian."

Rhys' words sounded final. I knew that tone. Whatever I came up with, I was going to have to do it without the benefit of Myrrh going back to Scythia.

"Do we know everything she knows?" I asked.

"Honestly, probably not. I think she probably knows a lot more than she even realizes. She's not exactly a trained spy and she was under the influence of a glamour. I don't really want to start rummaging around in her mind though," said Rhys.

"Who says she can't spy?" asked Azriel.

He'd been sitting next to us, silently assessing the situation.

Rhys raised an eyebrow at Az.

"I taught her some things," Az simply said.

Rhys had no answer for that. He just sat and looked at Azriel. I was a little surprised too. There was a silence in the room. I had to ask the question though.

"Az, how long were you two together, exactly?"

He paused for a moment and looked at Rhys.

"Promise you aren't going to hit me again?" he asked.

Rhys nodded.

Az absently rubbed his jaw before he looked at me. "I don't have an exact number of years because there was a long time where we knew what we were to each other but didn't say anything. Around fifty years, I guess."

I glanced at Rhys who was staring at the table in front of him before looking back at my friend.

"Why didn't you at least tell me?" I asked him.

"At first, because we didn't tell anyone. We snuck around, met at night and I had so little time that I couldn't see her much. But then, I just –"

"Couldn't tell me," Rhys finished for him.

Az nodded. "And if I couldn't tell you," he said to Rhys, "then how could I tell you, Cass?"

"We're brothers," I said with some frustration. "You couldn't tell us something that important?"

Azriel looked at Rhys. He seemed to be waiting for him to say something.

"I can see where he might have thought that I wouldn't be so receptive to the idea," said Rhys finally. "I've changed a lot since then Cass."

I shook my head. They were going to have to work through this themselves. I had an army to worry about.

"I'm going to see what we can find out about Scythia's army," I said.

Rhys nodded. I walked out of the room without a glance back at my brothers. The silence was frightening.

 **Azriel**

I waited until Cass was gone before getting up. Ever since finding out about Myrrh and me, Rhys had barely spoken directly to me. He seemed to be angry and yet not angry all at the same time. I had decided it was simply going to take him time and I was giving him space. So, I wasn't expecting what happened next.

"Az, wait."

I looked back at Rhys.

"Sit for a minute. I need to talk to you."

I took a deep breath and sat back down. I looked at my brother's face and tried to judge what he was about to say.

"I'm sorry."

Whatever I had been expecting, it wasn't that. I stared at him.

"I'm sorry for hitting you. It just, it took me by surprise. You didn't deserve that and I'm sorry."

I nodded my head. Rhys rarely apologized or even admitted he had feelings. But then all of us were good at hiding our real feelings.

"I never thought about my sister as having grown up," Rhys went on. "She was always my little sister. She's lucky though, to have you as a mate."

"Thanks," I said. "To bad Mor doesn't seem to feel the same way."

Rhys nodded. "She's been through a lot, Mor. Give her some time. You've always been the person that she loved but wouldn't admit it."

I stopped and hesitated before going on. "The thing is, I don't think that's true. Mor may be jealous of Myrrh but I think it's because she has my attention not because Mor ever had feelings for me. With Myrrh, I figured out she had been attracted to me because after awhile she couldn't hide it when we were alone together. With Mor, we've been alone together plenty of times but she's never even hinted at the fact that there could be more than friendship there."

"When the hell were you ever alone with my sister?" Rhys asked surprised. "I promise, I won't hit you but I had no idea you two were anywhere near that close."

I thought about it for a moment. "Well, I guess it started not long after I was assigned to your father as shadowsinger. I was always here and I had plenty of time to myself. We'd walk in the woods together and talk. Sometimes we'd be at the table together and nobody was paying attention we'd pass looks back and forth. It was like a game."

Rhys looked surprised. "Nobody noticed you two were close?"

"We were careful. I made sure to never do anything that could be interpreted as more than a casual friendship unless I knew we were completely alone. And then, one day, I realized that I didn't just like to be around her. I needed to be around her. She had been sent to the Spring Court. I think your father had gotten an idea that something was going on and he was intent on marrying her to someone in another court. When she came back, it was as though I could feel what had been there the whole time but I never noticed it. That's when I realized she was my mate."

"And I was off somewhere with my legion, not knowing anything," sighed Rhys.

I nodded.

I glanced up behind Rhys and smiled. "And he says you can't spy," I said proudly.

Myrrh laughed as Rhys turned around looking surprised.

"How long have you been there?" asked Rhys.

"Long enough to know that you think I'm not a good spy," she told her brother with a wink. "And I don't think Cass saw me either,"

Rhys looked impressed. "Seriously?" he looked at me curiously. "You knew she was there?"

"Of course I did. What kind of spy would I be if I didn't?" I told him.

"Shadowsinger," Rhys muttered under his breath.

I grinned at him before standing up. "I think that you two need to talk."

Without another word, I walked out of the room, lightly brushing Myrrh's cheek with a kiss as I went.


	10. Chapter 10

**Myrrh**

I walked into the room and sat down next to Rhys. I felt him poke at my shields and grinned.

"Better?" I asked.

He nodded in approval. "Much."

I had never had the power my brother had. I had some powers as a daemati but where Rhys' power was able to control, I was only able to read feelings off of people. I felt more like a shadowsinger most of the time and since I was more adept at controlling shadows than anything else, most people assumed that I was a shadowsinger. I preferred it that way. Aside from Rhys, I had never come across another daemati and I wanted it to stay that way. My brother taught me how to shield my mind when I was very young and I had become exceptional at that. The glamour had kept me from using any power, however, and as a result my magic was weak.

"You're flying again and you seem to be gaining control over your magic. It's almost back to normal," Rhys said cheerfully.

Even with his shields up, I could tell he didn't want to talk about Azriel. He would change the subject every time it came up. This time though, I knew he wanted to know something.

"What Az just said, about you being sent to Spring Court," he hesitated. "Is that true?"

"I was sent, yes. I was also sent to Autumn Court and Summer Court several times. Fortunately, it's pretty hard to marry a daughter who's half Illyrian," I said.

Rhys' eyes went wide. "He was really trying to marry you to someone?"

"He was," I said honestly. "You should know that I don't go down without a fight though."

He smiled at me. "But something was different after you went to Spring Court. The way Az said that, I could tell, he was worried."

"Az may have been worried but I wasn't. Tamlin's father wasn't going to let his son marry me," I said simply.

Rhys' mouth fell open in shock. "Tamlin?"

"He wanted to marry me, yes. Our father was over the moon about it. Tamlin's father, not so much. And Azriel… well, he was not going to let that happen. And I learned that I hate being a pawn in political games."

"Azriel said that when you came back from Spring Court, he realized what you were to him," said Rhys carefully. "Did you know?"

I nodded. "I knew before then. I just tried to keep it a secret. I didn't think that Az was willing to hear it unless he knew there was a chance that I might be taken away from him. Tamlin was that threat and even though I told him I would never actually marry Tamlin, Az was panicked. I think that's what helped him feel the bond."

"How did you get out of marrying Tamlin?" asked Rhys.

"I never did," I told him. "Azriel and I kept our relationship a secret and since Tamlin's father wasn't interested in the pairing, he never let me come back to Spring. Our father was infuriated and was trying to figure out how to get the match made. Marking the bond was Azriel's idea though. He figured if there was proof I was his mate it might be worth something if our father ever did figure out a way to get me married to Tamlin."

"Marked?" asked Rhys. "How?"

I turned my wrist over, showing him the small mark on my arm. It blended in with a couple of other marks and was not terribly noticeable but it was there. A small infinity loop.

"I've seen that mark," Rhys said quietly.

I nodded. "On Az's arm."

Rhys just looked at me. "You know if our father had ever figured out what that was, he'd have killed you?"

I sighed. "Banished, maybe. Kill would be a bit much, even for Father."

Rhys shook his head at me.

"I was more worried that you would notice it, honestly," I told him.

My brother looked at me somewhat shocked. "Why would you be worried about me finding out?" he asked.

"Says the man who punched my mate in the face," I replied sarcastically.

Rhys looked a little ashamed. "Yeah, I apologized for that."

"I heard," I reminded him.

Rhys looked at me carefully before he spoke again. "Speaking of that, can we talk about you being a spy?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Rhysand**

I didn't like going behind Azriel's back and I knew that Myrrh was not thrilled with the idea either. However, there were few options and we all needed to know more about what was going on in Scythia. My sister was adamant that there was no way she could replicate the glamour.

"It was complicated and not normal magic. Even knowing what it should look like, I would have a nearly impossible time recreating it and I am not good at glamouring anything," Myrrh reasoned with me. "If you want me to get into Scythia, it's going to have to be either under someone else's glamour or as myself but with a reason."

"Would anybody recognize you?" I asked her. "I don't want to send you into Scythia as yourself if there's a chance someone would see you and realize who you were."

She shrugged. "I doubt it but there's no way to know for sure. I did a good job convincing the nightwatchman to hand over his sword and cloak but he saw me. He might recognize me. The wings are kind of obvious."

I frowned and thought carefully. This plan needed to be well worked out before I tried to convince Az this was the best option. That was going to be almost impossible anyway but I was hopeful that if I sent him with her, I could convince him.

My sister hesitated before speaking again, "You're going to need a good reason to want to send an emissary to Belsar."

"I want to extend the hand of friendship," I said simply. "Isn't that reason enough."

"Belsar's no fool, Rhys. He'll expect you to be playing games with him. I don't even know if he's the person most likely to take Hybern's throne."

Cass and Feyre entered at that moment and we looked up expectantly. Cass spoke first.

"Lucien has almost made his way to Scythia. He reported that there are a few fae fighting for the throne but Belsar is one of them, for sure. He's heading to Hybern now."

I hesitated. I didn't want to try and intercept him on his way to Hybern. Myrrh read my reaction though.

"Intercept, no, but what if you invited him here?" she asked.

"Into Velaris?" I replied shocked.

"No," said Myrrh calmly. "Into the Night Court."

I hesitated. "You have not been introduced to the Court yet. Keir isn't going to play along with me, no matter how much control I have over him."

"So introduce me to the Court. I doubt that Keir is completely uninformed. Wouldn't his spies have caught wind of my return by now?" she countered.

"That's not a bad idea," said Feyre.

"What's not a bad idea," asked Az, walking into the room.

I looked at my sister, knowing he would take the news better from her than from anyone else.

"We're going to go to the Night Court," she said, "and then bring Belsar there."

Azriel looked at her with concern. "You've lost your mind, both of you," he said.

"She's going to have to be introduced to the Court eventually," I reasoned. "Now is as good a time as any, especially if we can throw off Keir with so much happening at once."

Az started pacing back and forth across the room and I could tell he was deep in thought. He wanted to argue with me but was also seeing the sense in my decision. I also had a feeling that Myrrh was silently arguing with him. After a few minutes, he stopped and looked at me.

"So what is her role, anyway?" he asked me.

I frowned. I needed to show trust in my sister for this to work. I couldn't disrupt my current inner circle too much though. The most obvious choice was not going to go over well though.

"Cauldron above, Rhys, you're crazy," Myrrh muttered.

I looked up at her. "Do you have a better idea?"

She shook her head and then glanced at Az.

"She will never speak to you or me ever again," whispered Azriel, going pale.

"She'll get over it," I said more calmly than I felt.

Cass sat down. "I don't like where this sounds like it's going."

I looked over at Feyre, who gave me a questioning look.

"You need to trust me on this Feyre. We're going to make Myrrh my third."

 **Azriel**

Rhys had decided the best way to break the news to Mor was to not tell her at all. He needed her reaction to be genuine for this to truly work. I still wasn't sure this was a good idea but Rhys was adamant that it would work better this way.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked him for about the hundredth time. "The last time you failed to warn Mor, she was pissed for weeks."

Rhys simply nodded. I had a feeling that he was working very hard to keep calm. He needed Myrrh's appointment to be official in the Court and for her to take power legitimately.

"Mor will challenge her and I know that Myrrh can handle herself with a sword," he said quietly.

I glared at Rhys, not liking this idea at all. I knew perfectly well that Myrrh could handle a sword. She had spent plenty of time training to fight under Rhys' supervision when she was younger. There was always a chance that something could go wrong though and that was my biggest fear. Rhys had warned me I couldn't interfere. And I wasn't so sure that Myrrh could handle Mor.

Feyre and Myrrh walked in the room and I was taken a bit aback. Feyre presented herself as High Lady of the Night Court and tended to dress as she had under the mountain. Myrrh had a different idea about how to present herself, however. She was about to be named Rhys' third which was a position that warranted power. She dressed herself in Illyrian leathers and tied her long black hair back into a braid. She was carrying two swords. More importantly, she and Feyre had clearly worked on making it look as though she had more tattoos than she actually did because they ran all the way up her arms. They had done a good job of it because I was impressed.

"Whoa," murmured Cass under his breath.

I agreed. She looked powerful. I had to take a deep breath. I also had to remember my role. She was not my mate down there. She smiled at me across the room.

 _What do you think?_ She whispered down our bond.

I nodded and sent the lust I felt back down our bond at her.

I saw her blush.

"Are we ready?" asked Rhys. He looked around the room. He had sent Mor ahead several minutes ago to make sure he was expected.

Myrrh and Feyre nodded and Myrrh took Feyre's arm. The two winnowed to the entrance to the Court of Nightmares leaving just me, Rhys and Cass.

"I hope you know what you're doing," said Cassian evenly.

"Me too," replied Rhys. "But we're committed now. Mor will become an emissary to the Court of Nightmares and Myrrh will be my third."

Rhys stood, waiting for Feyre to tell him that everything was in place.


	12. Chapter 12

**Myrrh**

It had been a very long time since I had been anywhere near the Court of Nightmares. I followed Feyre to the throne room and forced my face to become blank. I had to maintain this role. It would be crucial to our success with Belsar later. Mor was waiting near Rhys' throne and nodded when Feyre and I came in. I expected what happened next but it still threw me and I prayed that it didn't show on my face.

The room exploded with muttering and outright exclamations. People were trying to get a look at the High Lord's sister. I could tell that I was right about Keir having heard. He seemed unsurprised but many in the room looked shocked, as if they couldn't have believed it without seeing it. I ignored every single person in the room but still assessed every person, as Azriel had taught me. Know your enemy. Feyre and I walked up to the throne. Feyre sat down in the throne to Rhys' left and I stepped to the immediate right of the throne. And felt my brother's presence as he came into the Court.

Rhys had never scarred me because I always knew who he was but in that moment, I was in complete awe of the power that my brother wielded. He walked into the room and the entire room, including myself dropped to one knee. I stayed there, waiting for him to start this game.

He wandered over to his throne and sat down lazily before glancing over at me. I couldn't see Cass or Az from the way I was waiting but I could feel Azriel nearby, scanning the room and keeping an ear on me. The bond between us was almost palpable and yet nobody else in the room seemed to notice it. I suddenly realized that the reason why was the bond between Rhys and Feyre. I didn't know if they were deliberately using it to mask the bond between Az and I or not but it was hidden behind it.

"Myrrh, rise," said Rhys calmly.

I stood up and looked at my brother, scanning the room as I did. Keir was nearby, watching this closely.

"My sister," Rhys announced, "has returned to us. Surely, Keir, you have something to say to her?"

Keir looked at me and scowled. I didn't expect him to say anything but then he spoke. "Welcome back to the Court of Nightmares, Princess."

There was scorn in his voice. I decided to run with his game. "Why, Keir, I hardly feel as though you need to address me as princess. After all, my brother is High Lord and not a king but perhaps you view him as such?"

Keir scowled at my reply and I felt Rhys' pride at my retort. I very carefully allowed myself to yield control of the shadows behind Keir, which he didn't notice until they were halfway up his legs. He seemed taken aback.

"Do my shadows frighten you Keir?" I asked innocently. "I thought you enjoyed being amidst them."

I had achieved my desired effect and allowed the shadows to stay where they were. I didn't dare look towards Az but I felt sure that he was proud of my display.

"Enough playing," said Rhys abruptly. I promptly made the shadows retreat.

"Keir, we are here with two purposes and then we can address any concerns you may have," Rhys began. "One is that we will be having guests soon and I want them accommodated here. You will find the best accommodations we have and make them better. I want everything ready by this time next week."

Keir nodded, "Yes, of course."

Rhys ignored him and went on. "Obviously, now that my sister has returned to us, she is in need of a position in my Court. While Morrigan has served me well, I believe that I would prefer my own blood to be closer than yours. Therefore, Myrrh is now my third. You will treat her as such."

The gasp that went through the room was audible. I chanced a glance at Mor who looked like she must have been dreaming.

"You understand, of course, Morrigan," said Rhys simply.

Mor stared at me and I shivered inside. I didn't like her look and I sincerely hoped that Rhys knew what he was doing. I needed to keep playing along though and I needed to answer him.

"Thank you, my Lord. I hope to serve you well."

"No," said Mor abruptly.

Rhys and I both looked at her. Rhys looked composed but I knew that he had been expecting her to push back. He raised an eyebrow at Mor.

"No," she repeated. "I fight better than her. I'll prove it."

Rhys looked at me.

I nodded. "If you wish, Morrigan. But I warn you, I may have more skill than you anticipate." I tried to keep my voice even and strong but I didn't want to fight my cousin.

I glanced quickly at Keir who was grinning. I knew he expected Mor to win this fight. The crowd seemed to be split. I had no indication of my skill as Azriel and Cassian did but they could see the tattoos on my arms and they had no idea that some of them were faked. As far as they could tell, I was trained as an Illyrian fighter.

Rhys motioned for the crowd to make room. Suddenly I was nervous. I had no idea how any of the people in the crowd may try to interfere. I was used to sparring with Rhys. This was different. I marched down the steps to the floor, looking through the crowd quickly trying to see where Azriel was. I couldn't see him but I could feel him through our bond, telling me that he had my back. I had no clue how he was going to do that but I put all my faith in him and what Rhys had taught me.

Mor drew her sword and came at me. I barely had time to pull my own sword and move out of the way. Rhys was looking bored up at his throne. I spun around and got a firm stance on the ground. This time when Myrrh came at me, I parried her blade. We danced around one spot, taking turns at attempting to disarm each other. I knew I needed to keep my blade though because if Mor disarmed me, she wasn't going to walk away from this. I had to end this and quickly. I concentrated on my task. I was fighting as well as I could but I was starting to realize that Mor may well have been better in an actual fight.

Suddenly, Mor was surrounded in shadows. I tried not to look surprised and moved with surprising speed. I disarmed her quickly and the shadows retreated. There was a general murmur of foul play but most of the crowd seemed to think that magic was fair play. Mor was not convinced.

"You didn't do that," she shouted at me in anger.

"Of course I did," I told her, trying to look disinterested. I knew damn well that Azriel had done that and so did she.

"Enough," said Rhys. "Myrrh disarmed you. She proved herself a better fighter. Do you still question that she is worthy to be my third?"

Mor stared at Rhys like she had no idea who he was.

"Go to hell," she told him.

Cassian looked at Rhys, waiting. Nobody expected her to do that. She had forced Rhys' hand.

"Cassian, take Morrigan to learn some manners," he said.

Cass nodded and grabbed her arm. Someone in the crowd snickered.

"Who was that?" demanded Rhys.

A young male was brought forward as people in the crowd moved out of the way. Rhys glanced at Feyre, who suffocated the boy for several moments, before letting him collapse on the ground.

"Never do anything like that again," said Rhys viciously. "You will find that I rarely have time for simpering fools such as yourself."

The boy didn't move. Rhys nodded at Cass who dragged Mor with him. She was putting up as good of a fight as she could.

I knelt before Rhys again, waiting. He placed his hand on my head.

"Well done. Now we have guests to prepare for."

I nodded and headed out of the room, the crowd parting in front of me as I went. I kept my head held high and walked with a purpose, scanning as I went. Feyre was behind me, I realized after several steps. Rhys seemed to have turned to deal with some business that Keir had for him. We walked briskly down the tunnel to the outside, where the sun was starting to sink below the horizon.

Feyre winnowed me back to the townhouse. I looked at her when we got back and she looked as surprised as I did. I walked into the house and down the hall to the study. The noise coming out of the room was not surprising.

"Mor, listen," roared Cass trying to get her to calm down, "we had to make sure that Keir didn't question Myrrh at all. Rhys wanted it to look like she was powerful and had his ear."

"I don't care," came Mor's reply. "You tell that bastard to get back here and face me."

Feyre and I paused outside the study.

"Do I dare go in there?" I asked her.

She shrugged.

I turned around and pushed open the doors and walked into the room, hoping that Cass had at least disarmed her.


	13. Chapter 13

Mor was as upset as I had thought she would be. I was really worried that this was going to be something that destroyed us as a family. Rhys tended to play dangerous and it always worried me. This time he may have gone to far. Right now, I was desperately trying to keep Mor for tracking down Rhys herself and trying to kill him. She couldn't but I didn't want anybody to get hurt in the process.

Myrrh walking in the room didn't help anything. Mor immediately began yelling at her.

"This was your idea wasn't it?"

Myrrh shook her head. "No, this was all Rhys. He came up with the idea."

I was surprised at how calm Myrrh sounded. I had forgotten that she was very good at controlling her emotions and those of the people around her. Hopefully she could get Mor under control. I could feel the calm emanating off of her as she spoke.

"We needed to make sure Keir didn't question anything when Belsar got here. Hiding me wasn't an option because we need to bring Belsar to the Court of Nightmares, not here."

"I don't care," Mor yelled back, still just as angry. "He should have never done that without talking to me first. You can't even understand what it's been like here all this time and now you walk back in and he makes you his third and knows nothing about who you are or where you've been or where your damn loyalties even lie."

With that, Mor took two steps and started swinging. Fortunately, Myrrh was good and dodging, so Mor missed. I looked at Myrrh and she shook her head at me. She wanted to handle this on her own.

"What exactly do you mean, where my loyalties lie?" she asked Mor.

I wasn't sure but I thought I saw shadows flare behind her.

"Just what I said," Mor replied. The venom in her voice told me that she truly didn't trust Myrrh at all. That seemed to strike Myrrh hard because her demeanor changed.

"If you think for one second that I would ever do anything to put this court in danger, think that my loyalty was ever to anyone but Rhys then you need to take a closer look at who you're talking too," Myrrh hissed.

"What proof is there of that?" Mor taunted back.

"I spoke a promise to my brother to be loyal to him and I would never consider breaking that. I would die first," said Myrrh. As she spoke she pointed to a tattoo on her right arm. It was hard to discern the pattern through the shadows that were now surrounding her but it was obvious that there were three stars there, Rhys's mark.

"Oh we'll take care of traitors in our own way," Mor hissed.

With that, Myrrh's shadows swirled into a rage around her and for a second I thought I saw Mor back down. I took a couple of steps back myself because I wasn't sure what those shadows might be capable of. The shadows were the least of Mor's problems though because Myrrh had apparently grasped Mor's mind with whatever power she had and Mor fell to the ground in pain.

I wasn't sure what to do next. The shadows were making it hard for me to see Myrrh well enough to grab her but even if I did, there was little I could do about her grasp on Mor's brain. I was hoping that Rhys and Az were on there way back because this situation was beyond my control. Fortunately it wasn't beyond Feyre's.

I hadn't even seen Feyre come in but she had assessed the situation quickly and managed to separate Myrrh's hold on Mor. Mor collapsed and I went over to check on her. Feyre could handle Myrrh.

She didn't need to though.

"Enough!" roared Rhys, entering the room.

Az was immediately next to Myrrh, trying to get her to control the shadows, using his own to try and get control over the situation.

Mor had sat up and was rubbing her head. She was also sobbing, with her face buried in my chest. Rhys walked over to Mor and seemed to soothe whatever Myrrh had done, so that Mor managed to stop crying and with my help get to her feet.

At the same time, Azriel had managed to get Myrrh to reign in her shadows.

"What happened?" asked Az to the room. He was still staring at Myrrh, trying to keep her calm.

"She tried to kill me," Mor accused loudly.

Myrrh snarled. "She accused me of being a traitor."

Rhys looked at Mor. "You did?"

Mor nodded. "You know nothing of her Rhys. She's been gone for three centuries and you believe this story that she was trapped by a glamour?"

"Yes," Rhys said simply. "You forget, Morrigan, that I have powers that allow me to see the truth of what others say. And my sister swore herself to me. I don't care how many centuries have passed. If she broke that promise, I would know."

"I would never," Myrrh hissed.

Rhys turned and looked at her. "I know."

Rhys' affirmation seemed to do more to calm her than anything, as though she needed to know that her brother didn't view her as a threat to the court.

"Az," Rhys said quietly, "take her somewhere to calm down."

Azriel nodded and leaned in close to Myrrh, whispering something to her.

Finally she nodded and let Az lead her out of the room.

Rhys looked back at Feyre. "Are you ok?"

Feyre nodded. "I'm fine. How's Mor?"

"Fine," replied Rhys. "Myrrh isn't strong enough to much damage."

I stared at him.

"I'm serious Cass. She hurt her, yes, but she couldn't do any real damage."

I shook my head as Mor stood up. She was shaky but on her feet.

"How could you?" Mor asked Rhys.

"I had to make a decision. Keir needed to know that I have trust in her and the only way I could do that and establish her as having power in that court was to give her a position. I'm sorry Mor. It wasn't done to hurt you."

"You should have told me ahead of time," she said quietly.

Rhys shook his head. "I needed you to react. You could never have acted that part."

Mor looked at me. I shrugged. I had no answer to whatever question she was asking me.

She looked Rhys in the eyes. "I hate you."

With that, she turned and walked out of the house.


	14. Chapter 14

**Rhysand**

The words Mor spoke shook me to the core. I flinched as the door slammed.

"Don't say a word," I said to Cassian.

"I didn't," he replied.

"Just don't," I said again and walked out of the room.

I scanned the house, trying to figure out where Az had taken Myrrh. I finally realized that they were up in the library. It was a good choice on Azriel's part. It was a soothing place for my sister. I walked down the hallway and hesitated outside the door before going in.

Myrrh was in a chair and Az was kneeling in front of her. He held her hands in his. I almost wished I hadn't walked in on this scene. It looked intimate except that Myrrh had no expression on her face.

"It's ok," Az said to her. "Mor is ok. Rhys isn't mad at you. Just talk to me."

Myrrh shook her head. I couldn't see her face well because her hair had fallen across her face but what I could see looked like exhaustion.

"Myrrh," I whispered. "Can I talk to you?"

Az turned to look at me. His face was full of concern.

"What did she do?" he asked me.

"She attacked Mor's brain. I've never thought that she had that much power. She didn't do any damage. Mor was more frightened than hurt."

"It was so dark in my head," she whispered.

I nodded. "I know. It's ok though. You didn't hurt her."

"I did. I made her think that I was going to kill her. I had enough control that I could have made her stand there while I killed her."

"The anger must have given you more strength than you would normally have," I said calmly. "We can work on helping you control it, if you want."

My sister turned back to Azriel. "I'm a monster. How could you want to be with me knowing that I'm a monster?"

"You're not a monster," Az whispered to her. "We all have that side to us. You just lost control of it for a moment. Nobody got hurt."

My sister fell out of the chair she was in, into Azriel's arms and I watched helplessly as he held her and gently stroked her hair. I didn't speak. I backed slowly out of the room, leaving Azriel to comfort his mate. If anybody could bring her back from this brink of insanity, it was him. It was most definitely not me.

I walked down the hall to where I knew Feyre would be waiting. She was worried. I could feel the emotion coursing through our bond as my own mate tried to wait for me to come back to her. I made it to the door of our bedroom and then collapsed onto the ground sobbing.

Feyre came out to me and wrapped her arms around me. For a moment, I had a fleeting thought that my sister and I were both completely broken and the only people who could help us were our mates.

"What did I do?" I asked Feyre.

She just held me. We sat there for a long time before we got up and Feyre managed to get me into bed. The last thing I remember was the thought that hopefully all of this was not for nothing.


	15. Chapter 15

I spent the better part of the evening hoping that Myrrh would be ok. She looked like her entire world had been ripped apart after she lost her temper and attacked Mor. I knew that aside from me, nobody meant more to her than her brother. Mor's accusation that Myrrh would ever do anything to jeopardize Rhys had been too much. I was grateful that she had no idea of Mor's parting words to Rhys. Myrrh would probably blame herself for the rift in our family, especially since she felt outside of that circle right now.

With some effort, I got her to my room. She had regained control over the shadows but now I needed to figure out what kind of emotional damage she was doing.

"This isn't your fault," I told her closing the door. "Rhys made a decision knowing what could happen. He and Mor have been through a lot."

"I haven't?" she asked quietly.

"That's not what I meant," I replied, frustrated.

"Do you trust me Az?" she asked me.

"Of course I do," I said without hesitation.

"Really?" she asked again. "Because Mor doesn't and I don't think Cass does either."

"Rhys trusts you, so I trust you. If anyone would know, he would."

"So you wouldn't trust me if Rhys questioned my loyalty?"

I groaned. "That isn't what I said."

"You didn't answer the question," she pointed out.

I stopped for a minute and tried to gather my thoughts. This was so unlike Myrrh that I wasn't sure what to do with it. Maybe she had been hurt more than I realized by being trapped for as long as she had.

"Stop," I said finally. "This isn't a question of your loyalty. I trust you completely. So does Rhys. What anyone else thinks doesn't matter."

"But it does matter, Azriel. Look at what happened tonight. Rhys' loyalties to me made Mor question his intentions. I just placed the entire court into a state of chaos and that's the last thing we need with Belsar coming. The court needs to be unified and stand together. As long as I'm here, it can't"

"So what do we do to fix it?" I asked her.

" _We_ don't do anything."

I looked at her, trying to figure out what she was saying, hoping that my instinct was wrong.

Myrrh turned and looked out the window at the night sky. I walked over to where she stood and wrapped my arms around her.

"I need you," I whispered.

Myrrh looked at me before burying her face into my chest. "I can't stay Az."

I held onto her tighter. I was starting to feel as though I was suffocating. I had always promised her that I would never hold her back from going where she wanted to. In that moment, I was strongly considering forbidding her to leave but I knew it would be pointless. Myrrh was just like Feyre. It was one of the things I had always admired about Feyre, that desire to be her own person and do what she wanted to. Trying to force Myrrh to stay wouldn't work.

 **Azriel**

"If you leave, I'm going with you," I told her.

"No, Az. Rhys needs you here to deal with Belsar. The court needs to be protected. Velaris needs to be protected."

"Forget the damn court," I snapped. "You and Rhys are exactly the same, always trying to make martyrs of yourselves, as if nobody else can protect the court or Velaris. I need you here. I can't be separated from you again. I was miserable without you. And even if you left without me, I would follow you. I will follow you to the ends of the world and back."

I waited for her to reply to me, to say something. The silence filling the room, the air between us was deafening.

"I won't promise you I'll stay but I won't leave tonight," she said carefully.

I nodded. For now, it was a start.


	16. Chapter 16

**Cassian**

I had tried for days to get Mor to talk to Rhys. He had sent her dozens of messages asking her to come and talk to him He tried demanding that she come to speak to him. He even threatened to send her back to the Court of Nightmares, although we both knew that he couldn't trap her there. She was refusing to even consider talking with him.

Azriel was following Myrrh around looking gravely concerned. I knew it was because she had told him she was abandoning the court. She seemed to think that if she left that would fix things between Rhys and Mor. Azriel and I had both tried to convince her otherwise, that this was more than just about her but we hadn't made any progress.

In the meantime, I had sent a message to Lucien to find Belsar and invite him to the Court of Nightmares. I had heard nothing back from Lucien but as I had sent Cerridwen, I was sure that he had gotten the message. Now all I could do was wait. It seemed like that was all I could do on all fronts. So it was a relief to finally get a message from Rhys, telling me that Lucien was back. I flew back to the townhouse as fast as I could. At least once I spoke with Lucien I could start to do something useful again.

When I got to the house, Lucien was sitting in the study with Rhys, they looked as though they had been talking for awhile.

"Where's Az?" I asked Rhys as I walked in.

"In the garden with Myrrh. I tried to get him to come in but he wouldn't."

I sighed and looked at Lucien.

"What the hell has been happening while I was gone?" he asked.

"You don't want to know," I muttered. "What can you tell us? Did you find Belsar?"

Lucien nodded. "Once I spoke with Cerridwen, it took me no time to find him. He's travelling with quite an entourage. I have no idea how he thought he was going to get through Prythian unnoticed."

"Do I need to get Drakon and Miryam here?" I asked Rhys.

"Probably. From what Lucien's been telling me, Belsar expects to walk into Hybern and take the throne."

"How did he receive you?" I asked him.

"Not well. He said he's heard of our court and wanted to know why I thought he would want to make an alliance with the leader of the court responsible for the death of Hybern."

"What did you tell him?" asked Rhys.

"The only thing I could think of. Making us allies would make him more powerful and that our court is always looking to form powerful alliances. Which isn't strictly a lie," said Lucien.

I nodded. "Maybe we can convince him to come to our side."

Lucien shook his head. "I doubt it. He's convinced that the way to fix all of the problems in both Hybern and Scythia is to make humans slaves to fae again."

I scowled. "Rhys, I hope you have some good ideas because this guy doesn't sound like someone we want to deal with."

Rhys sighed. "Do I have a choice? We need to figure out some way to temper Belsar, to get him to back off. At least to see our side in this."

I was about to speak when Myrrh came into the room, followed quickly by Azriel.

"Offer him me," she said to Rhys.

"No," said Azriel. "That's the most ridiculous idea I've ever heard."

Myrrh ignored him. Rhys stared at his sister. I looked at Azriel, who looked like he'd just had his heart ripped out.

"It proves I'm loyal to the court," Myrrh went on, "And leaves it so that Mor can be rid of me."

Azriel growled. Rhys, Lucien and I all looked back at him surprised. None of us had ever heard him make a noise quite like that before. Rhys stood up.

Azriel ignored Rhys and stared straight at Myrrh. "If you do this, we're done. I don't care if you're my mate. If you could do this to me, knowing how I feel then I want nothing to do with you."

Myrrh said nothing.

"I won't make you a bargaining chip," said Rhys finally.

Myrrh looked at Rhys and he shook his head again. I had no idea what she had passed to him through their bond but he looked horrified at whatever it was. Azriel stood there, waiting for her to do or say something to him. Instead, she turned and walked out of the room completely ignoring him.

For a moment, nobody said a word. And then my world shook. Azriel had been my brother for a very long time and I had never seen him cry.


	17. Chapter 17

Rhysand

I stood and stared at Az. It was all I could think to do. I looked at Cass and silently told him to head to see Drakon. We were going to need their help no matter what else happened with the rest of this. Cass ducked out the door and looked relieved. He had no idea what to do with Az although truthfully, I didn't quite know how to handle this.

"Az," I started, "What happened?"

He shook his head. "She's gotten it into her head that she's a monster and that she needs to leave us all. She's convinced that will fix everything."

"Can you stay here? I want to find her and see if I can talk some sense into her."

Az just nodded. I tried to give him a reassuring look but I wasn't at all sure that he saw me.

I walked out of the room and immediately started searching minds, looking for my sister. Even with a shield up, I would recognize her mind and I knew there was no way she could block me out completely. Sure enough, after a few moments, I found her mind. It was upstairs, outside. I knew exactly where to go.

I found her where I knew she would be, on the roof. I didn't say a word to her but walked over to where she was. The moon was in the sky and there were stars everywhere.

"The stars are like magic," I whispered to her.

"I used to stare up at the sky in Scythia and wonder what was happening here. If you were ok. If Cass had become some war hero or great general. If Az…," she stopped.

"I'm sorry," I told her. "If I had thought, even for a second, that you were still alive, I would have turned over every rock in the world to find you."

"You couldn't have known," she said simply.

"In a way, this was better," I said. "You would have hated the person I had to be for Amarantha. I hate the person I had to be for her."

"She never mentioned me?" she asked me.

"Never," I replied. "In fact, my family never came up. I avoided the topic. But I remind myself every day that if I let her dictate how I live now, she wins even though she's long dead. So I'm trying to live my life without regrets and move forward."

"I tried to hurt her," she said to me.

"I know you did. You were angry and you made a mistake. We've all made mistakes. Especially me. We learn from them and keep going." I reached down and took her hand, the way I used to when she was little. "Little sister with big dreams."

She shook her head. "I don't have any dreams. Ever since I've been back here I've been ruining lives."

"Now you're being dramatic," I teased her.

"Rhys, all of this is my fault."

"No," I said firmly, "you're going to help us defend Prythian. Without you, we would have no idea about Belsar. He could mount an army and catch us completely off guard. This way, we can be proactive. And you are out of your mind if you ever think for half a second that I would make you play whore the way I had to for her. I don't care what Belsar wants. You are my sister, not a gift or a pawn. And Azriel loves you. And he's my brother, who would try to kill me if I ever considered such a thing as a possibility."

"Azriel doesn't need me," she said.

"Are you joking?" I asked her, astonished. "You have no idea how much Az changed since you've been back. I always took his demeanor for just Az. But it's not. He's like he used to be when you're around. He smiles. Cauldron knows, before you got here getting him to smile was impossible. He functioned, day to day and did what he needed to. Sometimes, I'd even see him laugh. He always seemed like part of him was missing though. And I admit, I thought that was because he was pining for Mor. We all thought that. But that was never it and I can see that now. You were the part of him that was missing. He needs you, desperately, and I don't know why you can't see that."

My sister was as still as a statue. I couldn't tell what she was thinking. I didn't want to slip into her mind to find out either. She needed to make this decision on her own and it wasn't mine to know about.

"He's still in the study," I told her. "I don't think he has it in him to actually move right now. He was too horrified by what you were suggesting. He's your mate, remember, and I can tell you from experience, the desire to protect your mate is powerful. Some of his reaction was purely that desire. But he loves you Myrrh."

She shifted slightly. She was either surprised by my words or horrified. I decided I'd said enough. I leaned over and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning and we can come up with a plan." I turned a walked away, hoping that she would go find Azriel and make everything alright with him.


	18. Chapter 18

**Azriel**

I sat in the chair in the study and stared into the dark. I had darkened the room to sit in my misery and so nobody would see the tears. Rhys hadn't said a word about it when he left but I was sure he had seen. I was ashamed of that. After Rhys had left, Lucien slipped out and pretended he hadn't seen or heard what just happened. I had no idea how much time had passed since Rhys left. I sat and fought with myself, thinking about everything I had said and done and critiquing all of it. Most of all, I couldn't understand why she would ever think that I didn't care. My heart actually felt as though it had broken.

I heard the rustle of her wings as she walked down the hall. I held my breath, wondering where she was going.

"Azriel?" she whispered.

"I'm in here," I said quietly.

She didn't turn on any lights either. She simply walked across the room and sat down on the floor in front of my chair. For several minutes she just sat there. I didn't want to say anything because I was afraid that the first words I spoke would be in anger. As much as I loved her, I was also mad.

"Do you remember the day we met?" she asked me finally.

"Sure, you were sixteen when you visited Rhys with your mother," I started.

"No, she interrupted. "That's not the first time we met. That may have been the first time you noticed me but we met before that."

"What?"

"It was a year before that. My father had gone out to the camp to see Rhys. I don't even remember why anymore. And he let me come with him. It was the first time I had really seen the training camp and as I was waiting for him, you walked by me. I know it was you because I noticed your hands. You were alone and I thought that you had the most beautiful eyes. You looked at me and I thought I was seeing into your soul. Right then, I knew that you were something to me. I don't think I realized that you were my mate. Maybe instinctually, I did but I would never have used that word. And you smiled and nodded and kept going. Rhys and Father came out a minute later and Rhys noticed me watching you. He told me who you were. I pretended I didn't really care but I memorized every feature of your face in that moment. I dreamed about you after that. Sometimes, I would be sitting in the forest or staring at the stars and I would wonder if you could see what I could see."

"I did," I confessed. "I would have dreams of starry skies and wonder why. After I came to Velaris, I thought the skies and some of the forest seemed familiar to me. That must be why."

"I was sure that you would come look for me after I disappeared. Every day, I waited, thinking that today would be the day that you'd find me and take me home. I don't even know how I thought you would find me. You would never have known me through the glamour. But I believed it, somehow you'd just know. And then I realized a year had passed. And then two. And then, one day I stopped waiting for you. I would look up at the skies and realize that I was alone in Scythia. After a hundred years or so had gone by, I realized that you had probably found some other fae, some other Illyrian to be with. And then I started to hear rumors about the war Hybern wanted to have. And I hoped that I would die in it so I would never have to find out about the new life you had without me."

I stared at her in the darkness, wanting to say something but not knowing what.

"Then when I got here, around everybody, my shields were so weak that I kept ducking into people's minds and hearing thoughts. Sometimes they were meaningless but I kept hearing about you and Mor. Everybody was wondering what you would do about Mor and I realized that you loved her. And I hated her. So part of my attack was rooted in that anger, not just what she said about Rhys."

"I never loved Mor. I mean, as a friend, yes, because she's part of my family here but I never loved her like that. And I was honest with you when I said that I have been in bed with other women. But I have only ever loved you," I told her.

And I meant it. I had no idea how to convey to her how I felt. I closed my eyes and tried to recall the day she had just described. An image came to my mind as I thought back. Bright green eyes and a girl I had thought looked a little like Rhys. She was right, I realized. I did remember that day and with it came an overwhelming feeling that she was important to me. Like some part of my soul tugged me over to her but my mind had ignored it. My soul, however, had grabbed onto that instant and captured it. I could smell the air that day, hear the sounds around me and the image of her was burned into my mind.

"You had on a blue dress," I whispered, "And you were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen."

My soul had screamed out at me and I had ignored it but fate had been more persistent. In the darkness, I reached out for her. She fell into my arms and I felt the tears fall down my cheek.

"I'm sorry I hurt you," she whispered.

I didn't say anything. I just held her in my arms. After what seemed like hours, I picked her up. She rested her head against my shoulder and I carried her to bed.


	19. Chapter 19

**Myrrh**

Sometime after lunch, Az and I came downstairs to find Rhys, Cass and Lucien with a map spread out.

"He was headed this way when I caught up with him, so I figure he's trying to cut through Summer to get to Hybern," said Lucien.

"I'll send word to Amren," Cass said. "Maybe we can convince Belsar to meet with both of us."

Rhys nodded. "We still have to figure out a good way to convince him to ally with us."

As I walked in, all three heads turned to look at me.

"We may have an idea," I said.

"We?" asked Cass cautiously.

"Yes. Azriel and I. We were talking about it upstairs."

Cass opened his mouth and then shut it again. Rhys smiled. "Smart."

"What if Belsar thought he was getting the Illyrians?" asked Az.

"Illyrians? All of them?" asked Cass.

"Yes. He wants slaves, right? What if he thought we were willing to give him the Illyrian race for slaves."

Rhys stared at Az. "What are you talking about?"

"Spying," said Az with a grin.

Rhys stood up and looked at Az. "Explain."

"You can get him to take me and Myrrh, as trial slaves. Lucien can go along as our 'keeper' for the act. While we're there we can find out all kinds of things about Belsar, plus Lucien gets to try and cozy up to him the legitimate way."

"Except that Scythians used to rape their slaves, remember?" said Cass.

"I think we can keep that part in check," I said.

Azriel looked at Rhys. "What do you think?"

Rhys walked over to the window and stared out it for a long while. He was clearly thinking about something but he gave no indication to any of us what that might be. Finally. He turned around and look at Azriel.

"You will be personally responsible for my sister's safety. If something happens, you need to have a way out and to get back to us because it wouldn't be long before Belsar would figure he'd been played."

Az nodded. "Do you really think I'd let anything happen to her?" he asked Rhys.

"I still don't like the idea but I do think it has the potential to work. Drakon should be here soon and hopefully he can offer more insight. Lucien, can you do this?"

Lucien nodded. "Sure. I have plenty of practice sucking up to people with huge egos," he said with an edge of sarcasm.

"I hope you don't mean me," said Rhys with mock surprise.

"Actually, I was thinking of another High Lord with an overinflated ego but you too," Lucien replied with a grin.

I gave a nod of my head to Az and we slipped out of the room as the other three men went back to the map. I headed out to the garden. It was quiet back here and a little cool since the weather was getting colder again at night.

I turned to face my mate and took a deep breath. I had to swallow my own pride, which was never easy for me but it was necessary. I needed Az to understand.

He looked at me curiously and waited.

I picked an apple off the nearby tree and walked over to him. I took his hand and placed the apple in it and looked in his eyes.

"I am giving you this. It's not a meal but you understand what I mean with it, right?" I asked him.

"I've never asked you to do that," he replied.

"I know. I've always been a child of this court. We're apparently stubborn and obnoxious all that time. I think it runs in the blood."

He chuckled. "You think?"

"You are my mate and this court is not mine to run. I need to set aside some of my pride and accept that you have more control here than I do. That's not a bad thing, I don't think. Together, we're pretty dangerous, especially as spies but I need to be a little more understanding of you." I stopped for a moment and took a breath. I needed to wait for him now, to see what he would think.

"This court is still your home. I understand that. I underestimated the damage that Amarantha did to Rhys under the mountain and I underestimated the damage that you suffered locked in Scythia for all that time. That kind of wound takes a long time to heal and I learned watching Rhys start to heal that sometimes you do stupid things at first because you accept that you don't mean anything. You believed that for a long time. And it's not true. You mean a lot to me. You mean a lot to Rhys. And the others will come around with time. Rhys will deal with Mor. That's his mess to clean up, not yours."

I smiled at him. Finally, he had said something that I didn't have to question or wonder about. I knew without a doubt that he was telling me the truth. He was starting to understand.

I took his hand and gently pulled him toward me. He dropped the apple and wrapped his arms around me.

"Maybe we should go back and listen to their plan," I said to him.

"They'll tell us later," he said. "Right now, I want to find out just how much submission you intend to give me."

I raised an eyebrow. He leaned over and kissed my neck. I shivered.

"Upstairs," he whispered, "Now."

I glanced up and looked to see the window for his room. It was open. I flew up to the window and smiled as he launched up from the ground. I blushed at the look he gave me, backing me onto the bed.


	20. Chapter 20

**Lucien**

The idea was crazy but like most of Rhys' ideas, it was just crazy enough that it might work. Since Belsar had never met Rhys, he had no idea that Rhys was part Illyrian. That would work to our advantage. The only potential problem I saw was Myrrh.

"Rhys, she could be your twin. How are you going to explain that to Belsar?" I asked him.

"I've considered that," he replied. "We could tell him that she's my father's illegitimate child. He may buy into that since we're trying to sell him Illyrians as slaves."

"Uh, have you mentioned that to your sister?"

"Sure, just now," he said nodding at where she sat nearby.

Myrrh made a rude gesture at her brother but spoke with a teasing tone in her voice. "Maybe you're the illegitimate one."

I sighed and stared at the map. Based on what I knew about the group's speed, they should have been in Spring Court territory. Nuala had been sent out earlier to verify that.

"This could be dangerous," I said.

"So is doing nothing," pointed out Cass.

Even with several days to plan since the idea had first been put forward, I was hesitant.

"Lucien, we need you to be sure of what you're doing," Rhys said to me. "Can you do this?"

"Of course he can," said Myrrh.

My friend always had faith in me. I nodded at her.

"Of course I can," I echoed.

Myrrh sat next to Az, the two patiently waiting. Az had been fairly protective the past few days and I had some thoughts about why. The primary thought was that her pretending to be a slave was almost as dangerous as her being locked in Scythia within a glamour. The end result, an inability to defend herself or feel worthy, was the same.

Nuala suddenly appeared in the room. She walked over to the map and pointed. I had my area right. Rhys looked at me. I glanced back at Az and Myrrh.

"Are we ready?" asked Rhys.

Az and Myrrh stood up and I blushed as Az kissed her. He knew it might be awhile before he could again. Rhys had the sense to look away. I walked over to where they were.

"Let's do this." I took Myrrh's arm and she took Az's hand. I winnowed us to the spot we had talked about. We came out into an area that I was familiar with. Az and Myrrh took on their roles and we started to walk. I knew that we'd be found quickly.

"Halt," came a gruff voice. "Oh, it's you again."

"Greetings from the Court of Nightmares," I said coldly. "My Lord has asked me to bring a present for Lord Belsar to consider a friendship with our court. He believes that this is an offer that Lord Belsar would benefit from."

The guard snorted and called another guard over. He whispered in the other fellow's ear and he went off, hopefully to get Belsar.

"What are they?" asked the guard, noticing Az and Myrrh.

"Slaves," I said simply.

The guards eyebrows went up. I could tell I had his attention. I said nothing. I kept a close eye of my two charges, like any good master would. Az looked nervous. I was sure it was because I had Truth-Teller. Azriel rarely let anyone else touch the sword but he could hardly claim to be a slave and have a sword, so he had given it to me. That way we'd have it if we needed it but it wouldn't look too obvious. I hoped Belsar didn't notice the addition and take offense.

Finally the other guard returned and indicated that we should follow him. I made the two Illyrians walk in front of me. They did a decent job of playing slaves, keeping their heads down and trying not to show to much expression on their faces. I got the distinct impression that they were communicating though because every once in a while I noticed they would exchange looks.

Belsar came out to greet us.

"Lucien," he said cheerfully, "I hardly expected you to be back so soon! And with gifts!"

"Greetings Andrau! Yes, I spoke with my Lord and he seemed to think that perhaps an example of what we could offer you with our friendship would be beneficial."

Belsar looked over Az and Myrrh carefully.

"They look so strong for slaves, Lucien. How do you keep them under control?"

"Careful punishments," I replied. "Look at the male's hands."

Az would probably knock me senseless later for that but I needed an answer and we hadn't considered that.

Belsar nodded, approvingly. I spoke with Lord Rhysand at length and he felt that if you could see the benefits of not having human slaves that perhaps we could talk some. He would really like to meet with you himself. The Court of Nightmares is truly exceptional," I told him.

"Hrmmm," he murmured. 'Perhaps. In the meantime, come in and sit. I was just about to have lunch. We were hoping to make it through this Summer Court tomorrow."

"Oh? It's quite far from here," I told him.

Glancing at Myrrh, I realized that she had a question in her eyes. I did everything I could to open my mind up, so she could get in. I knew that was a weakness for her but I felt that if she could get a word or two across, I might get it.

 _Winnowing?_ I scrunched my brow before it finally dawned on me what she was questioning. Why didn't Belsar winnow. Maybe it was just for show but I had a feeling that there was more going on here.

"Why not just winnow?" I asked him.

Belsar looked at me. "What is that? Is that one of Hybern's tricks?"

I could tell even Az was baffled. Did Belsar not know what winnowing was or was he playing us?

"Well, we use it to travel large distances. Forgive me, I presumed that you could do so. Perhaps not?" I tried to sound innocent.

"Perhaps you could show me," he said.

"Where would you like me to take you?"

"Could you take me to Hybern?" he asked.

"I don't know that land well. I would have trouble landing in a spot that might be good for you," I said carefully.

He nodded. "Very well. Somewhere else? Could you take me to your lord?"

"I could, however, I know he would be quite angry with me if I brought you unannounced. He wished to have time to prepare the best accommodations. Perhaps a short demonstration?"

I stood up and Belsar nodded. I looked to a spot across the tent and winnowed. Belsar looked shocked.

"Can they do that?" he asked nodding at Az and Myrrh.

"No," I lied. "That's beyond their power. They have very little power, just strength and the wings, obviously."

"I heard a tale from a nightwatchman of a beautiful woman with wings. I thought it was a ridiculous tale at the time but now I see there are creatures with wings."

He walked over to Myrrh, who to her credit managed not to flinch as Belsar ran a finger down one of her wings. I could see Az holding back, wanting to kill him for touching her like that.

"And quite lovely too. Are they all so lovely?"

"No," I told him. "Much like us, some are much more beautiful than others."

"Indeed," he whispered. He had gotten quite close to Myrrh now. Az was staring at the ground hard but I noticed his hands were clenched at his sides.

"So, you were saying something about lunch," I said briskly.

Belsar turned his attention to me. "Yes, of course. Do they need to eat?"

"They do but of course they can wait," I said. "I could send them out to wait or a corner? Or perhaps another tent?"

Belsar frowned. "Yes, they can sit in that corner." He indicated the corner of the tent. I nodded and the two went and sat down. Az sat dangerously close to Myrrh but I decided to hope that our host didn't notice. Belsar's staff brought him his lunch and they quickly acquired more food once they realized that I was expecting to eat.

"So," Belsar began, "What will it cost me to get slaves such as these?"

"Lord Rhysand asks for friendship, a working relationship. He feels you and he could both benefit from something like that."

Belsar nodded and I hoped that he was seeing things my way. We were making progress, right up until Tamlin walked in.


	21. Chapter 21

**Azriel**

My face had to have given me away when Tamlin walked in. Lucien's face certainly did. Belsar had to notice that Lucien didn't expect to see Tamlin nor did he like seeing Tamlin there. Myrrh spun her face around and looked at me with wide eyes. Tamlin had no idea about Myrrh being alive. I prayed that he hadn't seen her. He had, however, seen me.

"What in the world," Tamlin said, glancing around the tent. "Lucien?"

Lucien stood up quickly. "Tamlin, I didn't know that you knew our friend."

"He is in my court, is he not?" asked Tamlin. "It is rare that I am unaware of people within my own lands."

I tried to think fast. Belsar had obviously been playing Lucien to some degree. He had to realize that Tamlin could winnow but it was anyone's guess what else Tamlin may have told Belsar.

"What is going on here?" asked Tamlin, gesturing to me.

"Ah, Lucien was speaking to me about the slaves they keep in the Court of Nightmares," said Belsar brightly.

Tamlin's face was one of pure shock. "Surely, you're joking? Rhysand is – "

"Wanting to make a good impression on Lord Belsar," cut in Lucien quickly.

Belsar was glancing back and forth between Tamlin and Lucien trying to assess the situation. He had picked up on the fact that something was out of place here.

"They have some beautiful slaves there, Tamlin," said Belsar as he walked over to where I sat trying to hide Myrrh. "You should see this one."

With a swift movement, Belsar tugged at Myrrh, who wasn't expecting him to pull as hard as he did. He half got her to her feet and as he did she turned enough for Tamlin to get a look at her face.

Tamlin froze. I don't think I had ever seen him speechless but apparently seeing Myrrh in front of him was enough to do it. Tamlin's eyes went round and he took two steps across the tent and then stopped. I chanced a glance at Lucien who had put up an arm to stop Tamlin.

"Have you seen this one before then?" asked Belsar confused. Tamlin's reaction was not what he expected. I had sworn to Rhys that I would keep Myrrh safe and I had about five seconds to decide what to do next.

"Tamlin, surely you recall these particular slaves," said Lucien. "They are favorites of Lord Rhysand. Perhaps you are remembering seeing her at one of his parties."

"Uh, maybe," said Tamlin. He paused and looked at me. "I didn't realize that there was a business transaction taking place. I should come back later then?"

"No," said Lucien quickly, "please stay for lunch."

"I can not. Lucien, if you could do me that favor of stopping by later, that would be wonderful."

"Well, Lord Rhysand sent me to speak with Lord Belsar about a work exchange. I don't know if I'll be able to."

Tamlin stared at Lucien and then looked straight at Myrrh and me before he spoke again. "Tell Rhysand I will be by to see him soon then."

Without another word, Tamlin left. I was holding my breath.

Lucien glanced at Belsar, wondering what to do next. Belsar solved the question for him.

"Please tell your Lord that he should make sure his nearest neighbors are aware of his business dealings before coming to speak with me. I would like to speak with your Lord at his court, however. I should reach Hybern within the month and I will send word from there."

Lucien nodded. "Very well. I will pass along the message." He nodded at me, indicating he wanted to go.

I stood up and helped pull Myrrh to her feet. She was still avoiding looking at the opening of the tent but we were going to have to walk that way.

Lucien pointed briskly. "Let's go," he said to me. I nodded and went first putting Myrrh behind me. That way, Lucien would be behind her.

We walked quickly away from the camp that Belsar had set up and headed for the point we had arrived at. None of us spoke, wanting to move as quickly as possible. I was keeping an ear open for Tamlin as well. We reached the clearing and I stopped and looked around. I saw nothing that looked out of place. Lucien came into the clearing and sighed. He went to take Myrrh's hand to winnow the group of us back to Velaris when he spoke.

"Hello Myrrh. It's nice to see you're still alive."


	22. Chapter 22

**Myrrh**

Tamlin's voice made me freeze. He had seen me well enough to realize exactly who I was.

"We're leaving Tamlin," said Lucien.

"Not yet, I don't think. Not until you explain what's going on here."

"Rhys can explain everything to you," Az said.

"You're awfully quiet," said Tamlin looking right at me. "Are you going to explain why you weren't there that night? You know, I was quite upset to learn that you were missing. And then my father said he killed you and your mother and I was very confused. I still don't know how exactly that happened but I know you weren't there when I checked into the camp earlier that night. So where were you?"

"I wasn't there," I told him.

"I know that. Where were you? Why did your mother seem to think that you should have been there but that you weren't at the time? Surely you didn't know I was coming?"

"No," I told him. "I had no idea you were coming. Why did your father come later?"

"I'll answer your question when you answer mine. After all, I asked first. Where were you?" Tamlin pushed me again. He looked right at Azriel as he asked and I suddenly realized that he knew where I had gone.

"I went to see Az," I told him honestly.

"So much like your brother," he muttered.

Azriel went to move around me. "Tamlin you're a bastard," Az said bitterly.

"Well, at least I'm not a part of the Night Court. Apparently, that whole family will sleep with anything," he sneered.

Lucien moved in between Az and Tamlin before Az could do anything too rash. "We're leaving," he said to Tamlin. "Now. If you want to talk to her, come to our court."

"Ah, Lucien. Were you sleeping with her too? Such a defense for such a chaste young woman."

Lucien looked like he wanted to grab Az's sword and run it through Tamlin. Instead he backed up watching Tamlin the whole time. When he felt Az at his back he stopped.

"Do you have her?" he asked.

"Yes," Az replied.

As soon as Lucien got an answer we winnowed.

"How long before he shows up here?" Az asked.

"No idea," replied Lucien, "But I would start explaining to Rhys now because I think Belsar knows we're lying too."

"Damn it," yelled Az as he slammed open the front door.

Rhys walked out of the library followed closely by Cass and, to my surprise, Mor.

"Give me my sword," Az said turning to Lucien. "I'll run him through myself. Hell, both of them."

Rhys took a step back as Lucien handed Az Truth-Teller. Lucien looked horrified. I glanced over at them and said nothing.

 _What happened?_ Asked Rhys through the bond.

I looked at my brother with trepidation. He wasn't going to like what I was about to say.

 _Tamlin was there._ I told him.

"What?" Rhys yelled.

Lucien looked at me as I shrugged. "Tamlin would like to speak with you at your earliest convenience. Actually, he may just show up," said Lucien with some concern.

"He better not," said Cass sounding irritated. "So, I take it this did not go as planned?"

Az shook his head. "Not exactly. Belsar saw right through it after Tamlin showed up. And Tamlin is furious."

"No," I countered, "he's jealous."

"How the fuck did he even know where you went?" asked Az.

"Maybe he was following me?" I said hesitantly. "I mean, I was careful but I could have missed something."

"But I wouldn't have," said Az. "No, somebody had to know. Tamlin's not sneaky enough to not get caught."

"Maybe father did know?" asked Rhys. "The timing of his interest in marrying you would fit, if he wanted to keep you away from Az."

"Why would he even care?" I asked Rhys.

He shook his head at me. "I don't know. Because he didn't want you to get to close to Az? Because he was a bastard?"

I sighed. Not unexpectedly, there was a knock on the front door. Rhys glanced at me.

"Who do you think?" he asked me.

I rolled my eyes.

"Sass," he muttered.

I backed away from the door towards Az.

Rhys sighed and opened up the door. "Good afternoon Tamlin."


	23. Chapter 23

**Rhys**

Now I was going to have to figure out how to deal with Tamlin when I really didn't want to. I already knew what he was going to want and there was no way I was giving him my sister.

"Please, come in," I said as he walked in the door.

"Rude," muttered Cass. I shot him a warning look. I didn't want to start a fight. Yet.

Cass backed off and put himself between Tamlin and Myrrh.

"Rhysand, how rude of you to not let me know that you were going to be in my court," growled Tamlin, turning to face me.

"My apologies. I had no idea that we were going to be in Spring Court. I anticipated that Belsar would be in Summer Court." I was trying for polite.

"And why were you speaking to Belsar. And why was your sister played out as a slave?"

"Well, both of those things are not really your concern, are they?" I told him calmly.

Tamlin turned and looked around Cass at Myrrh. He looked her up and down with something that bordered on lust. I didn't like it. "Don't look at my sister like that, please."

He walked toward her, ignoring me and Cass stepped in front of him. "Did you not hear Rhys?" snarled Cass.

"Oh, I heard him. But Myrrh and I have some unfinished business and I think I have a right to address it with her. I would prefer to address it in private," started Tamlin.

"No," said Az and I at the same time.

Tamlin looked at Az. "Really?" Tamlin asked. "I doubt you want to hear what I have to say to her."

Az snarled at Tamlin.

"Really, Rhysand, you need to control your help," Tamlin said haughtily.

"Azriel is not my help and you should learn to control your tongue," I snapped.

"Well, let me speak with Myrrh and I'll be on my way," Tamlin snapped back at me.

"So, talk," I said bored. "We have things to do that don't include you."

"Very well," Tamlin said, turning back to Myrrh. "Since I am now the High Lord of Spring Court, I am more than willing to go back to our previous deal. Unless you'd like to negotiate something new?"

"I don't have any deals with you," Myrrh said.

"Ah, but your father did."

"So?" I said. "He's dead and as I'm now the _High Lord_ of this court, there are no deals."

"I don't think you can go back on this kind of promise," sneered Tamlin.

"Watch me," I muttered.

"Your father promised me Myrrh as my wife. When I believed her to be dead, well, obviously other women came along. However, as I see she is alive, I would like my future wife to come back to Spring Court with me."

"Over my dead body," said Az angrily. "Deals made with Rhys' father don't count."

"Oh, I think you'll find they do," smiled Tamlin.

Az looked over at me and I shrugged. I had no clue what Tamlin was talking about.

"Very well, I'll be going. Sooner or later, you will have to come with me," Tamlin said lightly. "I wouldn't get to comfortable."

"Out," I growled.

Tamlin looked at me and grinned. I was beginning to get the impression that Tamlin might actually know something I didn't and it was starting to make me nervous. Az wrapped an arm around Myrrh, as if he was afraid Tamlin might try to grab her. Tamlin turned and walked out the door without another word. Cass slammed the door behind him.

Az looked over at me. "Rhys, what's he talking about?"

"I don't know. I have a feeling we're going to find out though."

Mor was staring at Az as though she'd never seen him before. She was obviously shaken by his behavior and I realized that Az looked angry, threatened. Myrrh looked at me with concern.

"He is not going to take you anywhere," I told her.

"He sounded awfully sure of what he was saying," Myrrh said.

"He's bluffing, making it up… I don't know but there is no way that a promise our father made overrules my decisions. I've never heard of such a thing," I said firmly.

I wished I felt a sure as I claimed to be.


	24. Chapter 24

**Azriel**

I was pacing back and forth across my room with Myrrh sitting on the bed. I wished I felt as calm as she looked though I could tell through our bond that she was far from calm.

"Az, can you please sit. You're making me more anxious," she said finally.

I sat next to her on the bed, picking up her hand.

"I can't lose you. And I sure can't stomach you ending up with Tamlin."

"Give Rhys time. He'll figure out what Tamlin is talking about so we can tell him to stuff it up his smarmy ass."

"Then why are you worried?" I asked her.

"I'm not, Azriel."

"Sure. Or did you forget our bond?"

She answered me by resting her head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her and sighed.

"Rhys is back," said Cass outside the door.

"Ok," I told him. "We'll be there in a minute."

I looked at Myrrh. "No matter what, I will always love you."

"I know. And I love you," she replied.

I gave her a soft kiss, pulling her close to me and she returned my kiss, letting her body melt into mine. I pulled away and looked into her eyes.

"Let's go see what Rhys has to say."

She nodded.

Downstairs, Rhys was pacing back and forth in the study. Cass and Mor were sitting opposite each other and both wore looks of concern. As we walked in, all three looked at us. Instinctively, I reached down and took Myrrh's hand.

"This looks pretty somber," I said.

"Azriel," began Rhys, "Tamlin's telling the truth. My father made some kind of pact with the priestesses that promised Myrrh to Tamlin. It's binding."

I felt like my heart was about to explode. "You're telling me I have to send my mate to Tamlin?"

"Well, there was no timeframe on it," Rhys said slowly, "so no. I'm going to see if there's some way out of this. In the meantime, she stays with us. Uh, unless you want to go?"

Myrrh gave Rhys a nasty look.

"Sorry," he said, 'I didn't want to assume anything."

"How are you going to get out of a promise made through the priestesses?" asked Cass.

Rhys shook his head. "I don't know yet. I've got Feyre working on that for me. In the meantime, we need to figure out Belsar. Our original plan is no good, obviously."

Cass shrugged. "I'll talk to Lucien tomorrow and see if we can devise another plan but it's going to have to be more defensive since Belsar won't trust us again."

"I'm not sure he trusted us to start with," I pointed out.

Rhys turned to Mor, "Do you have any ideas?"

She shook her head. "No. And I still haven't forgiven you. I simply decided the fate of my home was more important than my anger right now."

Rhys nodded.

Myrrh glanced over at Mor, looking a little concerned. Mor looked at her next to me and let out a breath.

"I guess if Az trusts you that's good enough," Mor said finally.

I smiled. I squeezed Myrrh's hand and looked at her, suddenly feeling terrified. "I won't let you go. I swear it."

"I know you won't," she told me.

"Ugh, if I'm ever that bad, just kill me," muttered Cass.

Rhys raised an eyebrow and coughed something that sounded like Nesta. I chuckled. Cass just ignored us.

Just then there was a knock on the door.

"If that's Tamlin," I muttered warily.

Rhys opened the door and grinned. "It's the answer to at least some of our prayers."

Drakon walked in the house, grinning. "I hear you have some problems with an uppity fae from Scythia."

He stopped in his tracks when he saw Myrrh. "Mother above, Rhys, I thought she was dead."

"Well, apparently Hybern wanted to keep her safe," Rhys said.

Myrrh smiled. "Hello Drakon. How is Miryam?"

"She's wonderful. She'll be thrilled to hear that you're safe," he glanced down to where I still held her hand, "and attached to someone." He winked at me.

"Can we skip the niceties?" asked Cass. "Belsar is storming Hybern as we speak."

"Not unless he learned to winnow," I told him.

"Wait, what?" asked Cass shocked.

"Apparently, he can't. Either that or he's the best liar I've ever seen. He was shocked when Lucien winnowed, like he'd never seen it done before." I said.

"No, he probably hasn't," said Myrrh. "I never saw anyone winnow. I assumed they could but honestly, I never saw a single fae do it. Maybe they can't?"

"Well, that's possible," said Drakon, coming in to the study and sitting down. "Not all fae have the same powers, so perhaps Scythians are not able to winnow."

"Then we have an advantage, right?" asked Cass.

"Well, the question would be what powers he has," Drakon reasoned.

Myrrh shrugged. "I never saw him do anything. In fact, I rarely saw him. He was usually at Scythia's court near Rask. All I know is what I heard from people around me, and that was usually servants."

Drakon looked thoughtful. "Maybe we could stop him at Hybern's throne. If we had an army there, ready for him, it might be enough to discourage anyone else from trying to take the throne."

"I'll get the Illyrians ready," said Cass.

Rhys nodded. "Good. I'll get Keir's legions and we can figure out a plan."

I glanced around the room. "We're going to let you all work." I didn't wait for an answer. I walked out of the study with Myrrh and we headed upstairs. I had a plan.


	25. Chapter 25

**Myrrh**

"What are we doing?" I asked Az as we walked up the stairs. He shook his head and we walked down the hall to his room. He closed the door behind us.

"Can you make it so nobody can hear?" he asked me.

I nodded and mustered enough magical strength to keep us within our own minds.

"What's going on?" I asked him.

"I don't want Rhys to hear this. I don't want anyone else to get into trouble and if they can't hear then they won't know."

I nodded. "So, what are we doing?"

"We're leaving," he said.

I was sure I had heard him wrong. "Leaving?"

"I can't let you go to Tamlin. They can't send you if they can't find you," he said.

"But Rhys will figure this out," I said.

Az nodded. "He will but he needs time. I'm going to give him the time he needs."

"Ok. Where are we going to?"

"Past where the wall was maybe. They'll be less likely to look for us there. We could go north too." Az glanced around the room and picked up a pen and a piece of paper.

"Where's Nuala?" I asked Az. "She could get us some food before we go."

Az shook his head. "I don't want anybody to see her and get suspicious. They might check on us."

I looked up at Az and giggled. "Do you honestly think Rhys won't get what we're doing?"

"He'll figure it out but they're too busy right now. I want us to be gone with an hour."

I nodded. Az had Truth-Teller back and I looked around to see what I could take as a weapon. In looking around the room, I realized that I was going to miss this place desperately. I had barely been home for a month and now I was going to have to leave again. I felt tears spill onto my cheeks and wiped them away quickly.

Az knelt down next to me and kissed me. "I'll miss it too. I don't want to go but I lived without you for far too long. Now that I have you back, I just can't," he choked out.

I nodded.

I understood what we were doing and why but I didn't like it and I hated Tamlin for chasing me out of my home.

"Ok, this should be good," I said standing up.

Az crept over to the window and pulled it open. I listened quietly, hoping nobody would hear.

"Are you ready to fly?" he asked.

"I guess it's a good thing you got me back in the air, huh?"

"I would have anyway," he whispered. "How could we not fly?"

He kissed me one more time.

"Follow me," he said quietly.

He climbed up onto the window ledge and flew towards the east. I climbed up onto the window ledge after him and watched him go east and then a little north, so that no one could guess if they happened to see us.

Az would be mad at me but I couldn't help it. I searched down the bond to my brother. Az was right that Rhys was completely preoccupied. I sent a message down the bond, before going knowing that I'd be out of sight before Rhys figured anything out. My brother was my world outside of my mate. I needed him to know that I was ok.

 _I love you Rhys. We're safe, I promise you._

With that, I put my shields back up, thankful that my brother wouldn't be able to get past it and took off into the sky. I felt the familiar tug at my shield that was my brother questioning what that meant exactly. I didn't look back as I flew. I had to catch up to Az.

It didn't take me long to catch up to him as I flew east and then north. I got level with him and he grinned at me.

"Ok, let's start to head back south. Go wide though. They'll be looking for us soon."

I nodded, getting the feeling that Az knew I would have told Rhys something. We turned west and started to take a wide berth, so we could avoid Velaris easily.

"Wait," I said, as he started to turn. "They'll look for us in the sky. Let's make for the cabin for the night."

"They'll check there," said Az.

"Well, we don't have enough of a start to make it far if Cass and Rhys go in different directions."

"Good point. Let's keep going north."

"Where too?" I asked him.

"The mountains south of Dawn Court."

We flew as fast as we could, knowing that we had to get down before to long or we'd be caught. I could feel Rhys tugging at my bond, trying to get me to tell him where we were but I kept the shield up. I knew by now that they would be up in the air. We headed down to the ground as we got over Under the Mountain. It was dark and quiet in the woods at the base of the mountain. It was eerie, knowing all that had happened there. Az found a tree that we could use as shelter that would keep us off the ground and out of sight. He climbed up a few branches and found a spot that he made into a nest against the tree trunk. I snuggled up in front of him, letting him wrap his arms around me and buried his face into the side of my neck. I could feel his warm breath. I leaned back against him, feeling safer than I had in centuries.

"I will keep you safe," he whispered. "Always."

"I know," I murmured, getting sleepy snuggled into him like I was. "I trust you completely."

"Mine" he whispered.

"Forever," I whispered.

Then I slept.


	26. Chapter 26

**Rhys**

I was in the middle of a discussion with Cass when my sister floated a message down our bond.

 _I love you Rhys. We're safe, I promise you._

Cass was talking about different ways to get to Hybern.

"Wait, what?" I sputtered.

"Well, I was saying," started Cass

"No," I said quickly. "Where did Az go?"

Mor looked at me surprised. "He and Myrrh walked out awhile ago. He said they were going upstairs."

Cass rolled his eyes.

I tried to send a message to Az but he was ignoring me. He didn't answer me at all. I tried to tug at Myrrh's bond but she too, ignored me.

"Damn it, Azriel!" I yelled.

"What?" asked Cass, confused.

I ran up the stairs to Az's room and knocked on the door. There was no answer. Everyone had followed me up the stairs.  
"Let them be," said Mor. "I'm sure they're busy doing things that I don't want to think about."

I looked at her and shook my head. I opened the door and the room was empty. The window was open and there was a sheet of paper sitting on the desk. I walked across the room as Cass looked around, surprised.

"Did they run?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied. I handed him Azriel's note. "He's buying me time."

"Oh Cauldron above," muttered Cass. "He really is crazy about her isn't he?"

Drakon looked at Cass. "They are mates, yes?"

Cass nodded.

"He may care about her but above all else, his drive is to protect her and keep her with him. If he felt that was threatened, then yes, he may have run."

"Great," I muttered.

"He's thinking he needs to buy you time?" asked Drakon, curiously.

"Yeah," I replied. "He's afraid that I'll have to send her to Tamlin."

"That sounds like some story," said Drakon. "But first, perhaps we should deal with Hybern?"

I headed back downstairs. I was mad. I was mad at Myrrh for letting Az talk her into this. I was mad at Az for not trusting me. I was furious with Tamlin for starting this in the first place. Drakon must have sensed my irritation though. He placed his hand on my arm and looked at me seriously.

"Consider his position, my friend. I feel certain that he trusts you to work this out. He simply wanted to protect his mate. I would have done the same. Would you not do what you needed to, if you thought your mate was threatened?"

I sighed. Drakon was right. I would protect Feyre with my life, if necessary. I don't know why I thought Azriel would be different. He was my brother and he trusted me to fix this with or without him here. My sister trusted me too. We would have to deal with this first though.

The planning session went on until almost dawn. I felt sure that we had a good plan though. Drakon headed out to begin his portion of the plan and Cass and I were left to deal with our end. Missing our spymaster, which made our jobs more difficult. I enlisted Lucien to help.

Then I had to prepare to go to the Court of Nightmares, a prospect made that much more difficult by that fact that Azriel and Myrrh were missing. I sent Mor as my emissary, to her father, to let him know that I needed to speak with him.

She came back quickly, saying that Keir was willing to meet. I questioned the response.

"He's willing to meet? Since when does he think he gets a choice?" I asked.

Mor shrugged. "He seemed to think that it was interesting that you still sent me to deal with him instead of Myrrh, Az or Cass."

"Nobody wants to deal with that slime," I grumbled.

Mor nodded. "Is it true that your father gave Myrrh to Tamlin, to marry him?"

"It seems to be," I replied.

"So that's why Az ran?" she asked.

I nodded. "He's afraid that I won't have a choice. I guess he thought if I couldn't find her then I couldn't send her off to Tamlin."

"I wish I had someone that had loved me that much."

"You're pretty resourceful. You found a way out anyway," I pointed out.

"She would too," said Mor. "You underestimate us Night Court women."

"Heh. I don't underestimate any of you anymore. Sometimes, you're scary. All of you."

"Then maybe you should talk to us instead of throwing us crazy random ideas we don't anticipate," Mor said pointedly.

I sighed. "You're right. I've apologized."

"Make it right next time," she said.

"Do you really think that my sister would turn on me?" I asked her.

"I wasn't so sure of who she was, so yes, I thought she could. And Az was sure but I didn't realize the depth of their bond."

"Do you now?" I asked her curiously.

"Well, no, not really. I've never felt that kind of bond," she replied honestly.

I nodded. "It's hard to understand until you feel it. Then it kind of tramples you."

Mor laughed.

Cass walked in and smiled. "It's good to hear that laughter again."

"It is," I said.

"Are you ready?" he asked me.

I nodded. "Let's do this."


	27. Chapter 27

Cassian

Going to the Court of Nightmares with so few of us felt odd but there wasn't anyone else to go. Amren was still in Summer Court, Mor was refusing to sit with her father and Az and Myrrh had taken off, literally. Rhys and I were going to have to put on quite a show. At least I knew that we could handle anyone there without trouble.

Rhys threw out his power so strongly my head hurt. We walked down the hallway to the throne room and headed to a small meeting room off to the side. Keir was already there with a lieutenant of his. Mor had suggested telling Keir only one person, to make it look more reasonable with just Rhys and me. I was still a little nervous.

"Keir," said Rhys, as he walked in. "Your daughter sent back an odd message. You seem to forget that you don't decide if you will meet with me. I send you word to let you know to be ready." His voice was like ice as he spoke.

"Yes, Lord," he scoffed. "But I thought since you seem to be losing your court that you may be having a change of heart."

"I haven't lost any of my court Keir. If they are not available to be here, it is none of your business. I have other matters to attend to besides you." Rhys spoke with condescension.

I was surprised that Keir seemed to know Az and Myrrh were missing.

Rhys went on, briskly. "I have need of your legions. None should be hurt, so there is no reason to bargain here. I simply need a larger show of force."

"Interesting," said Keir. "Why don't you just show them your force?"

"Because I choose not to show my hand Keir. That is why I am High Lord and you are not," said Rhys through gritted teeth. "Or do I need to remind you who's in charge here?"

With that I saw Keir's face turn slightly pale. Rhys had obviously done something to him. I stood there and said nothing. Keir finally seemed to yield as he looked at Rhys and mumbled something inaudible.

"What was that?" asked Rhys.

"My apologies, my Lord," said Keir a little louder.

"Very good," said Rhys quickly. "Now assemble your legions. I need them by tomorrow morning"

With that Rhys left the room. The tone of the room was quiet. Rhys must have really scared Keir because he normally had some parting comments.

 _What did you do?_ I asked Rhys through the bond we shared.

Rhys shook his head. He didn't want to talk about it, which made me feel sure that he had caused damage. We walked in silence to the spot where we would winnow back home.

"I'm getting tired of all this Cass. When do we get to just live?" Rhys sounded like he was at the end of his rope.

"I don't know," I told him.

Arriving back in Velaris, I was pleased to see Lucien waiting for us. "Tell me you found Az," I said to him dropping into a chair.

"Not a chance," replied Lucien. "But I may have something better."

"I'm listening."

He glanced at Rhys and grinned. "We were right about the magic."

"What do you mean?" asked Rhys carefully.

"They have very few magic users in Scythia. That was part of why Hybern had wanted the Cauldron so badly. Apparently, he had been feeding them the line that if he had the Cauldron he could restore their magic." Lucien was excited by this.

I was too, honestly. "We have a huge advantage then. We don't need to worry about Belsar. We can magic him into submission."

Rhys nodded but still seemed worried. I was beginning to be concerned about his mental health. All of this with his sister having run off with Az was wearing on him and he needed a break.

"You know what," I said to Rhys, "Let me handle this."

He looked at me almost gratefully. "I could use some time."

"Rest," I told him.

"I need to make sure my sister isn't trapped in some ridiculous promise our father made first."

"You need rest," I insisted. "Although, I doubt that you will until you've fixed things. Damn it Rhys, let us fix things."

"You fix Belsar. I'll fix my family," he said. He turned and walked from the room trusting me to maintain his armies.

"You know," said Lucien, "he really puts all his trust in you. And he adores his family. I wish I was that lucky."

I looked at Lucien. "You are part of this family now. And he trusts you. Maybe not as much as me but we certainly have more history."

"I might be able to help him with Myrrh," replied Lucien. He headed out of the room to catch up with Rhys.

I took a deep breath. This was my favorite thing to do.


	28. Chapter 28

Azriel

Rhys had yelled at me for a long time through our bond. He had flat out commanded that I go back to Velaris. It had taken everything in me to ignore him. Rhys was my brother and I knew that he was upset that I had left him out of this plan but it still seemed like the best option and I knew that he would agree with me if I was in Velaris and it was anyone other than his sister. I didn't sleep much. I sat and held Myrrh, feeling her sleep, knowing she was safe. Hopefully Cass could get Belsar under control quickly and they could focus their attention on Tamlin. The sun was just starting to come up and I felt Myrrh wake up.

"Careful," I reminded her, "we're awfully high up."

She nodded as she opened her eyes. "I remember. My head hurts though."

"That would probably be Rhys trying to get into your head all night. He spent a good part of the night yelling at me and when he stopped I figured he'd work on you next."

She laughed. "He ought to know better."

"I don't think that reason is his primary thought right now," I pointed out.

"True. So what's today's plan?"

"Well, I think we technically crossed the border into Dawn Court so we should probably get out of here. Rhys will be telling anyone who may be an ally to look for us."

"To look for you. He won't tell them to look for me. Who'd believe that?"

"Same difference. If they find me, they'll find you."

"How could Rhys be sure of that?" she asked me.

"Are you joking? He knows I'd never leave you."

"Ok. So are we winnowing?"

"Actually, I was thinking that we might head to Spring Court."

"What?" I didn't need to see her face to know that she was shocked at my suggestion.

"Well, that's the last place Rhys will think to look," I pointed out. "And Tamlin would never expect you to hide there. If we stay close to the border between Spring and Summer we should be safe. Plus that way I may be able to spy a bit on Tamlin and see if I can figure out what this promise your father may have made was. Let's get down to the ground though."

Myrrh started down the tree carefully and I followed behind her. She deliberately flew very close to avoid anybody seeing her. I recognized the tactic as something that I had taught her long ago.

"I'm impressed," I said as we got to the ground.

"With what?"

"You kept close to the tree."

"You think I'd forget anything you taught me?"

I grinned and took her hand. "Ready?" She squeezed my hand and I pulled us both through the darkness to the edge of Night Court. It was as far as I could reasonably get. Next she pulled me through, landing us in Autumn Court. Fortunately, there was nobody nearby and I made the last jump to the far edge of Summer Court. It was cool enough that I knew we were close to the border. We looked around the area to make sure we were in a safe place with no sentries or guards nearby. The area looked barely inhabited, which I took as a good sign. I searched until I found a group of trees close together. We could hide in the shadows and nobody would notice us, if someone happened to come along.

"Autumn Court?" I asked Myrrh when we were settled into our spot.

"Well, I knew it was close to Summer and I knew there wouldn't be anyone there."

"How?"

"Lucien used to meet me there when he was helping me sneak off to meet you. In fact, I wonder if Father didn't think that it was Lucien I was seeing."

"He must have known about Lucien's issues with his family."

"Yes, but it would be exactly like my father to assume that Lucien was seeing more then one person instead of assuming that we were helping each other do things our families would find less than acceptable."

"So you helped him see Jess?" I asked her curiously.

"Yes. I would act as a lookout for them sometimes. Other times I would be seen with Lucien enough for his brothers to think that it was me he was seeing. For a long time, they believed that Lucien was in love with me and not Jess. That may be part of why they were all so angry."

"So a part Illyrian from the Night Court was ok but a common fae wasn't?"

"Well, the word court was in there, so yes. Part Illyrian or not, I am still directly related to the High Lord."

"They should be more scared now," I teased her. "Rhys is dangerous sometimes."

"Only if you make him mad," she chuckled.

I laughed and pulled her close to me. "You think he's mad now?"

"Yup. But probably at me, not you."

"I don't know. I'm a bad influence," I teased her. I stopped talking abruptly. I had heard something.

Myrrh froze next to me. She had heard it too. I wrapped us up in shadows, trying to blend into the shadows of the trees. Through the darkness I could tell there were people close. I waited.

"Through here. I thought I heard something." I recognized the voice but couldn't place it. I reached out and grabbed Myrrh's hand, ready to winnow, fight, whatever I had to do.

I saw him through the shadows. My shadows weren't good enough though since the sun was up.

"Hello Azriel," said Tamlin.

I didn't answer him. I was hoping he was bluffing, even though I knew he had looked right at me. He reached into the shadows and grabbed Myrrh's arm, yanking her toward him. She still had my hand though, which resulted in everyone getting thrown off balance.

"Let her go," I growled.

"I don't think so. She's mine," he hissed back at me.

"Rhys will tear you apart," Myrrh said calmly.

"Eh, he's threatened me before," said Tamlin calmly. "I'm still here though so I think I'll take my chances."

"Bastard," I spat at Tamlin. "You're just trying to prove something."

"Hardly," he snarled back. "I was promised her by her father. I will have her."

"You don't care about her."

"Not really. But I can tell you do and that's giving me some immense pleasure right now. Either way, you can both come with me."

"We're not on your land," I pointed out.

"True. Do you really think Tarquin will care though? Is it worth fighting with me over? I doubt it."

Either way, I realized we were outnumbered. Somehow, Tamlin had known that we were close enough to his land. I desperately wanted to know how he knew we were here but I knew he wasn't going to tell me.

One of Tamlin's guards nudged me, forcing me to move toward the Spring Court border. Once we crossed that line, we would be stuck. Getting Myrrh out of there would be no easy feat.


	29. Chapter 29

Rhys

The first flicker of fear that I got came from Azriel and it scared me to my core. If Azriel was afraid then something was wrong. I wasn't sure if the feeling was intentional or not. And the timing was miserable. I had just gotten through meeting with Drakon and Tarquin. Between their armies and mine, we had considerable force and the magic would likely scare Belsar off. We were about to set off for Hybern. And then that brief instant of fear floated through the bond.

"Rhys, what's wrong?" Feyre asked. She had been watching me and noticed the look that must have crossed my face.

"Az. He's scared."

"What?" she asked, shock in her voice.

Cass had heard Feyre's voice and came over. "What is it?"

"He said Az is afraid? Scared?" Feyre still looked like she couldn't believe it.

"Az?" Cass asked. "Az is never scared."

I shook my head, unsure of what I had just felt. Maybe they were right but as I said that to myself another ripple of what was unmistakable fear flittered down through the bond. It was entirely accidental, I realized. Az must have been trying to contain his emotions.

"Something has him afraid," I repeated, sounding surer this time.

Cass stared at me, unsure of what to say or do. "Rhys, we have to go."

"No," I said. "You have to go. Take Feyre. You need to keep Feyre safe." I looked at Cass with seriousness in my eyes.

He nodded. "What are you going to do? We don't even know where they are."

"I'll figure it out," I told him.

Cass took Feyre with him to relay the message to Drakon and Tarquin. Fortunately, I knew both of them would accept that Feyre could handle this, if magic was needed. I needed to find my sister. I paused and did the only thing I could think of. I pushed at the bond I shared with my sister. Pushed it to a point where I could get inside her head. I hoped that I could do it without hurting her. I didn't need to worry. As she felt me push at her shields, she dropped them, letting me into her mind.

 _Where are you?_ I asked her.

 _Spring Court._ She replied.

I snarled. I should have known that Tamlin would try to do something nasty.

 _Is Az with you?_ I asked her.

 _Yes._

 _Are you both safe?_

 _For now, I think._

 _I'm coming._ I told her. I took a deep breath and winnowed, coming out into the gardens. I knew exactly where I was going. I marched the rest of the way to the house, trying to control my temper. I didn't knock when I got to the door. Tamlin had to be expecting me.

"Rhysand. Didn't your parents teach you it's polite to knock when you get to someone's residence?" asked Tamlin.

"Where are they?" I snarled at him.

"Well, your sister is being difficult and so they are both locked upstairs for now. You're more than welcome to take Azriel with you, of course. You can leave. I have what is mine."

"My sister is not yours."

"I told you Rhys. And surely by now you've looked into the details of the promise that your father made." Tamlin was grinning and I wanted to murder him where he stood.

"I'd like to hear what that promise was, actually." I was surprised to hear Lucien's voice. I hadn't heard him come in and neither had Tamlin apparently. He didn't look happy to see Lucien at all.

"It's none of your business," said Tamlin evenly.

Lucien turned to me. "Do you know details?"

"According to the priestesses, the promise was binding as long as Myrrh didn't have any promise or bond that was stronger. Lucien, why does that matter?"

"When was that arrangement made by your father? It's important."

"Why?" I asked Lucien.

"Well, having been complicit in a good bit of the sneaking around that your sister did, I happen to know that she and Az made a promise to one another. A binding one. So, really the important question is which promise came first?"

"Wait, what?" I asked.

"You've seen her mark? She said she showed you," Lucien said, looking confused.

I nodded. Myrrh had in fact answered me when I asked her about that mark at one point. "She said it was a promise but she never mentioned to who or what it was about."

"What mark?" snarled Tamlin. "And how does it matter anyway? She started sneaking off with the shadowsinger long after that promise was made."

"No," said Lucien, "she didn't. Her father presumed that I was the one she was seeing. That was intentional. Until he found out about Jess. It was then that he realized that I probably wasn't who she was sneaking off with. I don't know when he figured out it was Azriel but, by then, it was too late. I hate to be the one to tell you this Rhys but Myrrh and Azriel have been sneaking off together since she was nineteen."

Tamlin's jaw hit the floor, as did mine.

"Too late? Lucien," I said evenly, "what does that mark represent, exactly?"

"Their marriage," said Lucien.

A silence filled the room that could have been sliced with a knife.

Then Tamlin spoke. "Bring them to me."


	30. Chapter 30

Myrrh

The room was sealed off. Az sat there and held me. I wasn't going to leave him. I could feel Rhys' presence and I knew Az could too. All we could do was wait.

"Tamlin wants to see you both," said a guard, opening the door suddenly.

Az got to his feet and helped me up. I looked at him.

"I love you," I whispered.

"I love you," he whispered back.

We followed the guard down the stairs wondering what was about to happen. In the dining room stood Tamlin, Rhys and Lucien. I glanced around at each of the males wondering what Lucien was doing here.

"I'm going to apologize right now," said Lucien, "but I couldn't think of any other options."

I looked at him for a moment and then glanced at my brother. Rhys looked shocked and hurt. Very hurt.

"I've told them a lot. I did leave the best parts for you though," continued Lucien.

"It's ok," said Az. "Did you find out if it counts against her father's promise."

Lucien nodded. "According to several priestesses, it's binding."

"You're married?" Rhys asked me.

"Well, not the way you're thinking," I told him.

"We performed an Illyrian marriage rite," said Az. "It seemed more right to us since between us there's more Illyrian than fae."

Rhys couldn't have looked more shocked.

"And you knew this," Rhys asked Lucien.

Lucien nodded. "I helped her sneak off that night. I didn't know what she was going to do until she got back though."

"That doesn't count," snapped Tamlin angrily.

"But it does," said Lucien. "I mean, you might not see it as legitimate, but it is a very strong bond. They warned her father that if a stronger bond had been made his promise to Tamlin would be invalid. I just don't think he ever considered that she might have done something like that without his knowledge."

I felt my cheeks flush. I had done a lot of things without his knowledge.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" asked Rhys. He looked genuinely hurt.

"We've never told anyone," Az told him. "We always intended that bond to be ours. Ours alone, as part of our heritage. I figured that at some point we could have a fae wedding. We had intended to tell everyone about our being together. But then it had been a secret for so long. And then, well, then Under the Mountain." Az finished helplessly.

Then all of our plans had been blown apart because of Amarantha and her stupid quest for power, I finished in my head.

Rhys looked at me and I felt guilty. I hadn't lied to him but I had definitely left out details. Rhys was the only person in this world that knew everything about me, except he didn't know this and the look on his face told me that it hurt his feelings.

"I'm sorry, Rhys." I looked at him and hoped he understood that I meant that, truly.

"We'll talk about it later," he said. "And this invalidates any claim you have, so my sister and Azriel will be coming with me. Now. Unless you'd like to fight about it?" Rhys growled at Tamlin.

"I'll be checking this with the priestesses." Tamlin sounded angry but also defeated. He knew he'd lost this battle.

"Go ahead," said Lucien. "I spoke with several and they said they have records of everything."

Rhys grinned and turned to walk out of Tamlin's house.

Azriel smiled at me as he and took my hand. "Let's go home."

We walked out into the sunshine and I couldn't help smiling. I finally felt like everything might be ok.

Rhys walked up behind us. "Both of you. I need to talk with both of you when we get back." His look said not to try and disappear someplace.

Azriel turned and look up at his brother and smiled. "Promise."

Rhys nodded as Lucien caught up with us. "He's mad but he'll get over it."

Rhys snorted. "Let's get home."

The sun was high overhead in Velaris too and I let out a breath as we stepped out from the darkness that winnowed us here. I stood there for just a moment, letting the sun hit my face, forgetting about everything for a moment. The sounds and smells surrounding me made me happy. Nothing in the world could have made me happier than standing here with my brother in my home, knowing my mate was here and everyone was together.

"Now we wait," said Rhys.

"For what?" asked Az.

"For Cass and Feyre to come back from Hybern."


	31. Chapter 31

**Azriel**

Waiting was absolutely miserable. Normally, I was in the fight, whatever it was. Now I had no choice but to sit and wait for Cass to get back, hopefully safe. Myrrh and I sat in the garden watching the sun set. I was trying not to pace around the house. Sitting near her I could at least try and be calm. Rhys was actually pacing around the house. I knew he was worried about Feyre. She had indicated everything was fine but that was it.

The stars had been out for a long time when there was a commotion at the door and Cass and Feyre came in with Drakon following behind.

"It's done," said Cass. "I've never seen someone be so scared." His laughter filled the house.

"So Belsar isn't a threat?" asked Rhys.

"Threat," laughed Feyre. "Not a chance. He may never leave Scythia again. But we did manage to talk to several of the other contenders for Hybern's throne and convinced them that it was in their best interests to ally with Prythian."

"I knew you could make them see reason," smiled Rhys.

"Sure, reason," laughed Cass.

"More like they were terrified of Feyre," said Drakon. "That's one amazing wife you've got there, Rhys."

Rhys grinned. "I know."

Feyre flushed a little and I couldn't help but wonder what Rhys hadn't said aloud.

"Az!" shouted Cass. He threw his arms around me. "You bastard, don't ever pull something like that again or I'll beat you myself."

"Welcome home to you too," I said wryly.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rhys pull Feyre into his arms. I glanced around the room looking for Myrrh and found her next to Lucien. Lucien looked as though he was still apologizing for breaking his promise.

"You had no choice," I heard her whisper to him.

"Still, I shouldn't have said anything. I did it for a noble cause but that doesn't make it right,"

"I'd rather have you break your word than be stuck in Spring Court with Tamlin." She threw her arms around him and planted a kiss on his cheek. "You were always a wonderful friend. You're still a wonderful friend."

"He's a sneak," muttered Rhys.

Lucien glanced at Rhys and backed away from Myrrh.

"That's why he's such a fantastic spy," I told Rhys.

"What?" asked Cass confused.

"How bout you tell everybody the truth," said Rhys evenly. "The whole truth about what happened." He looked squarely at his sister as he spoke. Myrrh blushed. She got the meaning behind his words. I did too.

"Maybe everyone should sit down?" suggested Drakon. "I feel like there's a long story here."

"It might be longer than you think," said Lucien.

Rhys glanced at him, as if sensing that Lucien had a confession of his own to make. I had a feeling that Lucien had a few things to add that might make everything make a little more sense.

I found a seat and Myrrh sat down next to me. This was our story to tell.

"Where do I start?" I mused aloud.

"With the night we got caught, I suppose," said Myrrh, glancing at Lucien.

I nodded. "Ok. Well, the story really begins before that, just after our trials, when your father made me his shadowsinger. I had felt the mating bond before but that Starfall, it was finally too much. Plus, I was going to be at the court and I didn't know if I could control my feeling that well."

"I felt it too," continued Myrrh. "I kept trying to get close enough to Az to talk to him but he avoided me. It was probably a good two weeks before I could even get close enough to talk to him. Even before he came to court, we would talk. Until the bond got to much for one of us and we'd run off."

"After that Starfall, we started sneaking off. But I didn't want your father to find out, Rhys. Or you, obviously. So we started to use Nuala as a go between. She would pass messages to Myrrh telling her when she could meet me and where. Then once we were together, Nuala would act as a lookout for us. We did that for months. Eventually we decided that we didn't need her as a lookout and tried to find places that were hidden well and far out of the way of your father."

"We talked a lot during those times but we never get to close because we were afraid we'd get caught if we did anything outside of kiss each other. Then I realized that I could use Lucien as a distraction and get time with Az."

Rhys glanced at Lucien who nodded. "That's when we started to make it look as though we were fooling around. It benefitted both of us."

"Our father didn't care if I was sneaking off with Lucien, although he wasn't going to let it get too far. And Lucien's father didn't really care about him sneaking off with me. So we'd make it look obvious and everyone took the bait. We'd sneak out and meet up with each other and then I would go meet Az and he would wait. As long as everyone thought it was Lucien nobody paid much attention. That's how Az and I got enough time alone together to finally be together," Myrrh continued.

"Once we had done that, I knew," I said calmly. "I knew that she was the only person I wanted to be with. By that point, we had been courting each other for about a year and after we had… well, anyway, I wanted to do something more permanent. So we came up with the idea of the Illyrian bonding. It took me awhile to find a priestess I could trust but once I found one, Lucien helped us sneak off again. She marked us and we went back pretending everything was the same."

"Not long after that, Jess and I got caught," said Lucien sadly. "Once word spread about Jess, it became obvious that I wasn't seeing Myrrh."

"That's when I started to worry about your father finding out and sure enough, not long after that he started sending her to other courts. He kept talking about finding a good match for her. He'd do it in my presence all the time. I think he had an idea that she was sneaking off with me but couldn't prove it." I explained calmly. "We were going to run. That's why Myrrh wasn't with you mother that night, Rhys."

"Run? Where did you think you could go exactly?" asked Rhys confused. "And none of this was something that you could tell me?"

"I had planned on telling you when we got to the camp but then we ended up being late and Az and I had already set up a meeting place and time. That's where I got caught by Amarantha." I could hear the hope in her voice as she explained to her brother.

"I've never understood how she even knew," I mused. "Was it just luck?"

"I think we can answer that," said Cass.

I glanced up at him and he smiled.

"You see, in all Belsar's bleating, while he begged Feyre not to kill him, he started confessing all sorts of things. He apparently knew that Hybern and Amarantha had captured a fae from Prythian and tried to tell us that she was at his house in Rask and he would bring her to us. You should have seen his face when I told him we already knew all about that." Cassian chuckled.

"Belsar knew?" said Myrrh, shocked.

"Yup." Said Feyre. "He was actually supposed to watch over you although I don't think he knew about the glamour. He seemed to think you were a blond haired thing with blue eyes. But he had the time frame right. He said Hybern thought having a captive of Prythian was useful and that he could use it to his advantage. Over the years he probably forgot or couldn't come up with a good way to use you. Or he didn't really know who he caught. Especially as nobody came looking for you."

"Tamlin was convinced that his father had killed you, so Amarantha must have left another fae in your place Myrrh. I mean a dark haired fae wouldn't have been hard to find," said Lucien thinking.

"But he always said he had their wings," said Rhys.

Lucien shook his head. "He said that but I don't think he ever did. He said that to piss you off more than anything. For a long time, Tamlin was really sad whenever his father brought that up. Honestly, he really did love Myrrh, I think. Actually, Tamlin has kind of gotten screwed over the years, if you think about it. It must have left him pretty bitter."

Rhys looked surprised. "So, the promise was made?"

"Right before we left to run. That's why we decided to run actually," I told him. "I had overheard your father talking about it and sent word to her that we needed to vanish or she would have to go to Tamlin." I shuddered thinking about how close I came to losing her.

"So, then you were separated for three hundred years," said Drakon, "only to end up back together."

I nodded and looked at my mate. "And now, I think it's time to fix everything. No more secrets. No more lies. Our family deserves some peace."

"It's fixed in my eyes," said Rhys. "I may not agree with how you handled everything but you felt like you have no choices. You were trying to protect your mate and stay together."

"It's not fixed," I explained "because I still have to marry this woman."

Myrrh shook her head. "You don't have too. I'm perfectly happy just being with you. And we are married, in a way."

"But we always said that we would do it in a way that everyone would recognize and I still intend to do that. We may be mostly Illyrian, but you're still part fae."

I held my breath as I waited for her answer.

"Then let's get married," she finally said.

 **Myrrh**

Our fae wedding was a beautiful day, an odd contrast to the night we had snuck off and had the Illyrian ceremony performed. The sun was bright in the sky and our family was around us. It was far better than sneaking off in the middle of the night. Rhys looked gleeful as he watched me marry one of his best friends. Even Cass seemed to look pleased, as though he knew everything was right in the world, finally. Nesta even deigned to sit near him, which Az told me was proof that she was softening up towards him.

I had repaired some of the trust with Mor, who was feeling bold and told everyone that she wanted to be with a woman. Apparently, she had met someone and brought her to our wedding. Nobody seemed to care so long as Mor was happy.

My brother was overly excited as he gave me a hug. "This was what I always dreamed life would be like. Peaceful."

I watched him with Feyre, smiling. My brother looked content. "It's wonderful. Like we always talked about as kids," I told him.

"I intend to keep it this way," he replied. "I want my reign as High Lord to be known as one of peace."

I grinned at him. "I think we can manage that."

Azriel came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. "You and I have a date," he whispered.

"We do?"

"Yes. There's a bed waiting for us at home."

Home. That sounded amazing. The house that Az had been living in all this time was small but it was entirely ours. I had spent the past couple of weeks moving things out of Rhys' house and to ours. Every time I brought another box, Azriel had seemed happier and happier. He and I were together, like we had always wanted to be, hoped we could be. Better still everyone was happy for us.

Az trailed kisses down my neck, reminding me that he wanted to go.

I glanced up at Rhys who waved a hand at me. "Go. I don't want to see what he tries next."

Az gave Rhys a dirty look before he pulled me away. We walked down the street away from the party with the moon shining down on us and the sky full of stars. We walked hand in hand, stopping every once in awhile for a kiss. I couldn't think of a better way for our story to begin


End file.
